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Antibiotics without a prescription, WHO: Dangerous, used by 33% of people in Europe

2023-11-26 16:25:00, Shëndeti CNA

Antibiotics without a prescription, WHO: Dangerous, used by 33% of people in

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A third of people in 14 countries of the Western Balkans, the Caucasus and Central Asia used antibiotics without a medical prescription. These are the data of a survey published on Wednesday by the European Region of the World Health Organization .

The survey included 8,221 participants, half of whom reported taking oral antibiotics in the past 12 months.

The participants were from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

The most common reasons cited for taking antibiotics were colds, flu-like symptoms, sore throats and coughs. These are often caused by viruses unaffected by antibiotics.

In all 14 countries, a third of respondents or 30% consumed antibiotics without a medical prescription, in contrast to 8% of residents in the European Union surveyed in a similar survey in 2022.

In some countries, more than 40% of antibiotics are taken without medical advice.

"Medical expertise is essential to make an accurate diagnosis and determine whether antibiotics are the appropriate course of treatment," WHO Europe emphasized.

For several years, the WHO has called for the careful use of antibiotics as pathogens are increasingly developing resistance to them, known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

This week is Global AMR Awareness Week. AMR causes about five million deaths annually, with more than half a million deaths occurring in the WHO European Region, which includes 53 member states in Europe and Central Asia.

Different types of antimicrobials—such as antibiotics for bacteria, antivirals for viruses, and antifungals for fungi—target specific types of microorganisms. While AMR is a natural phenomenon, the development and spread of superbugs is being accelerated by the misuse of antimicrobials, making infections more challenging to treat effectively.

"The alarming reality is that, without immediate intervention, AMR could result in up to 10 million deaths per year by 2050. Moreover, this burden falls disproportionately on low- and middle-income countries, exacerbating global health inequalities, " according to WHO in Europe.

"This research clearly shows the need for education and raising awareness. All countries in our region have regulations to protect precious antibiotics from misuse, for example, preventing over-the-counter sales without a prescription. Implementing these regulations would solve most of the misuse of antibiotics among humans," said Robb Butler, Director of WHO's Division of Communicable Diseases, Environment and Health for Europe./ CNA