By Live Health Africa
When
antibiotics were innovated years ago they became lifesavers and helped
significantly reduce deaths caused by simple infections like coughs. However, after
decades of use and over-use, new reports suggest that antibiotics pose a threatas big as terrorism
Antibiotics
are effective against bacterial infections such as Bladder infections, wound and skin infections, such as staph
infections, severe sinus infections that last longer than 2 weeks and some ear
infections strep throat.
The Mayo Clinic warns that overuse of
antibiotics puts users and other people in grave danger.
“Antibiotic resistance occurs when antibiotics no longer
work against disease-causing bacteria. These infections are difficult to treat
and can mean longer lasting illnesses, more doctor visits or extended hospital
stays, and the need for more expensive and toxic medications. Some resistant
infections can even cause death,” says the Mayo Clinic.
According to World Health Organization (WHO) Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens the effective
prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by
bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi.
“It is an increasingly serious
threat to global public health that requires action across all government
sectors and society,” says the WHO “Resistance to earlier generation
antimalarial drugs is widespread in most malaria-endemic countries. Further
spread, or emergence in other regions, of artemisinin-resistant strains of
malaria could jeopardize important recent gains in control of the disease,”
The WHO adds that patients with
infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria are generally at increased risk of
worse clinical outcomes and death, and consume more healthcare resources than
patients infected with the same bacteria that are not resistant.
Hence are people are urged not to take antibiotics
unless necessary, not to self-prescribe medicines and when given medication
especially antibiotics to always finish the dose.
End
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