Bacteria was getting more resistant to antibiotics, the use of which was being abused, Health Minister Joe Cassar said this afternoon.

The minister was speaking at the Qormi Health Centre on the occasion of World Health Day, today, being celebrated on the theme “Antimicrobial resistance: no action today, no cure tomorrow”.

He said that the EU’s concern of overuse of antibiotics leading to bacteria becoming more resistant and antibiotics less effective, was also faced by Malta.

He called on the people to stop putting pressure on doctors and pharmacists to prescribe them antibiotics.

He also called on the medical community not to prescribe antibiotics unless they were absolutely necessary.

The head of Infection Control Unit at Mater Dei Hospital, Dr Michael Borg, said that apart from pills and syrups, antibiotics also existed in the form of creams.

The minister said that there were indications that one of the most dominant strains of MRSA in Malta, had become resistant to cream antibiotics. These antibiotics were meant for very specific skin infections and he had indications that less than five per cent of antibiotic cream was being used for the infection it was meant to be for.