What would you do if, in the middle of summer, you prepared some food, left home for the weekend and, when you returned, found that you had forgotten to put it in the refrigerator and it was now covered with moulds? You would probably throw it away and grumble how stupid you were to leave it outside.

Thank goodness that Sir Alexander Fleming did not do the same thing when he left laboratory dishes growing bacteria on a bench over a long hot British summer weekend more than 50 years ago!

Sir Alexander had the insight to recognise that the mould that invaded his dish was destroying the bacteria by means of some as yet unknown chemical. He started to work on identifying that substance, called it penicillin and the rest is history.

Unfortunately, that history also includes the fact that, within a mere decade, the microbes on which penicillin was initially very effective had discovered a way in which to survive the antibiotic. This process is called antibiotic resistance and has repeated itself for every antibiotic that science has discovered since penicillin.

The main reason why bacteria, over time, become resistant to antibiotics is simply because we use these wonderful drugs. Bacteria have an extraordinary capability of multiplying and changing their genes so quickly that, over time, they manage to change themselves in such a way that they become resistant to antibiotics to which they are exposed.

Antibiotics are the mainstay of many medical interventions. We marvel at the great life-saving advances that have taken place in surgery. Complex operations lasting many hours are now standard practice. Treatment for cancers such as leukaemia has never been so promising while patients who, only a few decades ago, would have died after a serious accident nowadays survive thanks to the specialised treatments received in intensive care units.

Nevertheless, none of these would be possible if antibiotics were not available. All these wonderful interventions expose patients to a greatly increased risk of infection, which, therefore, needs to be counter-acted by effective antibiotics. Thus, the ever-increasing trend of antibiotic resistance that is occurring worldwide, and Malta is no exception, is a matter of the gravest concern. Unless we can reverse it, we risk compromising these life-saving interventions.

The solution is to make sure we use antibiotics judiciously. This does not mean holding back from antibiotics that can save a patient’s life or even from treating bacterial infections which are causing discomfort, fever or pain. On the contrary, this is precisely what antibiotics are for. Our attention needs to be focused on refraining from using antibiotics when they are not required. This is the case in the majority of respiratory infections of the nose and throat that are so common once autumn and winter set in.

It is a matter of immense concern that research in Malta has shown that the most common reason why individuals take antibiotics is for sore throats. Sore throats are predominantly caused by viruses and, as has so often been stated, viruses are not killed by antibiotics. The only thing you will achieve if you take antibiotics for a viral sore throat is to risk the development of resistance in the bacteria that we all have in our throats and air passages. If you later develop, for any reason, a subsequent chest infection it would be much more difficult to treat, if not by last resort antibiotics in the hospital.

The ever-increasing trend of antibiotic resistance is a matter of the gravest concern

Today is European Antibiotic Awareness Day when all Europe stops to remember the life-saving qualities of antibiotics and the pressing need to ensure that they remain effective for our children’s generations.

Each one of us needs to contribute. Improved prescribing for sore throat by doctors and less demand by a better educated public are essential in order to improve current practices. Only in this way, will the threat of antibiotic resistance be effectively addressed and we can continue to depend on these wonderful weapons of mass protection.

Michael Borg is chairman of the National Antibiotic Committee.