- Do not take an antibiotic without a doctor’s prescription.
- Comply with the complete treatment (duration and dosage)
- Use the appropriate antibiotics for each type of bacteria.
- Do not use antibiotics against viruses that cause colds or flu (influenza virus). Also, do not use antibiotics against common bacterial infections (in case of bronchitis, sinusitis and ear infections).
- Get the recommended vaccinations
WHO has declared that antimicrobial resistance is one of the top 10 public health threats facing humanity.
All this leads to an increase in the rate of hospitalization, morbidity and mortality.
Problems with antibiotic abuse
The clinical development pipeline of new antimicrobials is exhausted and when infections can no longer be treated with first-line antibiotics, other products need to be used. Further innovation is needed in research and development of new antimicrobial drugs, vaccines and diagnostics, especially those directed against bacteria.
Bibliography:
- https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/sp/antibiotic-resistance.html
- https://www.who.int/es/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27439526/
