Pneumococci, staphylococci, pneumoniae and other bacteria become resistant to antibiotics in no time. Infections are spreading especially in hospitals. Today, there is more and more talk about the post-antibiotic era, alarms the National Medicines Institute.
On Thursday, the European Union will celebrate the European Antibiotic Awareness Day, aimed at drawing the attention of patients and doctors to the problem of inappropriate use of antibiotics.
Frequent, especially in young children, colds and runny nose, as well as other infections – pharyngitis, laryngitis, tracheitis, bronchitis – are almost always caused by viruses against which the antibiotic does not work, so not only is it not needed, but also can cause severe side effect and cause the elimination of natural flora, which largely protects us from colonization and the threat of a real pathogen. What is worse, this natural flora, thanks to the constant exposure of it to antibiotics, becomes resistant and can pass this trait to bacteria that cause severe infection – explains the president of the National Antibiotic Protection Program at the National Medicines Institute, Prof. dr hab. med. Waleria Hryniewicz.
At the same time, he reminds that the abuse of antibiotics is a common phenomenon throughout Europe, and according to the statistics obtained in the European Surveillance of Antibiotic Consumption ESAC program, Poland is at the forefront in this respect.
According to her, the reason for overusing antibiotics is insufficient diagnosis of the causes of the patient’s ailments. Only 55 percent. In cases, doctors know what strain is causing the meningitis. In the case of sepsis or pneumonia, it can be even worse. Meanwhile, knowing your opponent exactly allows you to heal more effectively and cheaper. Moreover, doctors, even in hospital practice, and especially in the case of severe infections, do not always collect a culture material to identify the microbes responsible for the infection, or do so only after treatment has failed. Such actions endanger the health and life of the patient, as well as the emergence and spread of resistant strains, explains Hryniewicz.
On the other hand, GPs often prescribe an antibiotic even when they know that the infection is viral. This was confirmed by a study conducted in one of the provinces of Poland as part of the National Antibiotic Protection Program. GPs (primary health care – PAP) were equipped with quick diagnostic tests to confirm or rule out the bacterial etiology of pharyngitis. (…) Antibiotic was prescribed in over 19 percent. cases of a negative test result excluding the need to administer a drug from this group – informs Hryniewicz.
All this increases the risk of bacteria. As the expert explains, in Poland, on average, about 20 percent. malignant staphylococci are resistant to methicillin. In some hospital wards, antibiotic resistance may be as high as 80%. these bacteria. Klebsiella pneumoniae (pneumoniae bacilli) have also become a problem in Poland, which, apart from being resistant to all beta-lactams (penicillin, cephalosporin, carbapenems), are also insensitive to many other groups of antibiotics, and strains of this bacterium resistant to all antibiotics have already been described. .
On the other hand, outside hospitals, the most dangerous are pneumococcal antibiotics. 40 percent pneumococcal meningitis isolated in Poland is resistant to penicillin. (…) What’s worse, 20 percent. these cases cannot be treated with other drugs as well – adds Hryniewicz.
The European Antibiotic Awareness Day was established in 2008 by the European Commission. As part of it, educational campaigns aimed at doctors and patients are organized. In Poland, they will include posters and leaflets in clinics and TV spots devoted to the rational use of antibiotics (PAP)