Almost a third of those surveyed, for instance, said they believed they should stop taking antibiotics as soon as they felt better, rather than finishing the full course of medication, while almost two-thirds incorrectly said that viruses, like those that cause colds, can be treated with antibiotics.
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The survey, conducted in Barbados, mainland China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Sudan and Vietnam, also showed that 66 percent believe that there is no risk of antibiotic resistance for people who take their antibiotics as prescribed.
Antibiotic resistance – where bacteria change so antibiotics no longer work to treat infections – is a worldwide problem that the World Health Organisations (WHO) has said is “no longer a prediction or the future [as] it happening right now”.
“The rise of antibiotic resistance is a global crisis”, said Margaret Chan, the global director of the WHO.
In Australia, a few strains of golden staph and gonorrhoea are already resistant to several antibiotics.
Appropriate use of antibiotics in people is not the only focus during this awareness week, as World Health Organization wants the public to realize the astounding implications of antibiotic abuse in animal agriculture, as well.
“When I was serving (as a medical doctor), patients will always ask for antibiotics as if it is a need”.
Bacterial diseases are increasingly becoming immune to commonly used antibiotics, fuelling “super bugs” that are resistant to treatment. “Let us together work to stop antibiotic resistance”, she said.
A large majority of respondents, 76 percent, had a misunderstanding of the concept of “resistance”, wrongly believing that antibiotic resistance meant the body was becoming resistant.
NPS MedicineWise CEO Dr Lynn Weekes says that belief is risky, as taking antibiotics too often can trigger resistance to the drug.
Keiji Fukuda, the WHO’s special representative for antimicrobial resistance, stated that the findings call for attention towards spreading awareness about antibiotic resistance. However the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) cautions that people on chemotherapy, those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, people who have had complex surgeries, people on dialysis for end stage renal disease and those who had an organ or bone marrow transplant are at a higher risk than others for antibiotic resistance. Forty-four percent of people thought this was true, but in actuality, as the World Health Organization points out, anyone can get an infection that’s resistant to antibiotics.
If you go to the doctors with a cough or cold, expect to receive a self-care leaflet and not antibiotics.
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A report from Public Health England (PHE) published on Monday said usage of antibiotics when all other treatments have failed has risen since 2010, with the use of carbapenems and piperacillin/tazobactam increasing by 36% and 55% respectively, from 2010-14, although the rate of increase is slowing.
