In the midst of flu season, and other viruses, now it’s being reported if no action is taken, an estimated drug-resistant infections will kill 10 million people a year by 2050.
A Public Health England (PHE) and Imperial College London study found that drug-resistant infections are one of the biggest threats to modern medicine and inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics is only exacerbating this problem.
New research found at least one in five prescriptions by family doctors should never have been issued, fueling antibiotic resistance.
Overuse of antibiotics fuels the rise of drug-resistant superbugs, which kill 5,000 a year in the UK.
Medical expert Dr. Joe Galati said using antibiotics when you don’t need them threatens patients long term effectiveness—and both doctors and patients need to do their part.
“For the patients to realize that if their physician is not going to prescribe an antibiotic—understand the rationale behind it and not, in a sense, pressure the doctor,” said Galati. “Hospitals and insurance companies are really reigning in the physicians and the control of these antibiotics, as well as the pharmacies, but it takes discipline to not, at the drop of the hat, order in antibiotics.”
Antibiotics work on bacterial infections. The vast majority of coughs, colds and sore throats are caused by viruses.
Some UK researchers are worried that an antibiotic resistance superbug would be comparable with terrorism and climate change.