×

We've got news for you.

Register on SowetanLIVE at no cost to receive newsletters, read exclusive articles & more.
Register now

Stop using antibiotics for the common cold‚ says WHO

“Stop using antibiotics for the common cold.” This is the message of the World Health Organisation‚ which launched its first antibiotic awareness week as fears mount that‚ with growing resistance‚ “we could face the end of modern medicine as we know it“.

Director General of the WHO Margaret Chan said in a press conference in Geneva on Monday: “Antibiotic resistance is reaching dangerously high levels in all parts of the world.”

The WHO on Monday released a survey of 10 000 people in 12 countries of all regions in the world and found that two-thirds of people still believe that a common cold‚ a viral infection‚ could be cured with antibiotics.

But antibiotics only work for bacterial infections.

A total of 7600 people surveyed incorrectly believed that humans became resistant to antibiotics‚ rather than understanding it was the bacteria that developed resistance to the drug.

Resistance is a natural process — but overusing antibiotics is speeding it up‚ said Keiji Fukuda‚ Special Representative of the Director-General for Antimicrobial Resistance at the WHO.

Using antibiotics as growth promoters for animals and to “treat” viral infections in humans increases resistance‚ he said.

“The rise of antibiotic resistance is a global health crisis‚ and governments now recognize it as one of the greatest challenges for public health today. It is reaching dangerously high levels in all parts of the world‚” said Chan.

“Antibiotic resistance is compromising our ability to treat infectious diseases and undermining many advances in medicine.”

Gonorrhoea is now resistant to multiple classes of drugs‚ she said.

Fukuda urged people to ask doctors if antibiotics were necessary when prescribed. He said everyone could make a difference by not sharing antibiotics with others and not using them unnecessarily.

Chan said before she became a doctor‚ she also asked her doctor to prescribe “miracle medicine” and urged patients not to pressure doctors for antibiotics that were not necessary.

Chan warned: “The world is heading towards a post-antibiotic era with current infections that can kill. If current trends continue‚ joint replacement‚ chemotherapy or intensive care of premature babies will not be possible.

This will mean the end of modern medicine as we know it.”

 

 

 

 

Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.