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CDC Warns About Overuse of Antibiotics
In an effort to reduce the
growing numbers of drug-resistant bacteria, officials at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) are urging physicians to stop prescribing
antibiotics where the drugs are not necessary.Director of Antimicrobial Resistance
for the CDC, Dr. Richard Besser, told an audience of physicians attending
a medical conference that each year US physicians write $50 million worth
of prescriptions that are ineffectual and unnecessary. A common reason for
unnecessary prescriptions is patient demand for treatment.
"We are facing a crisis because doctors are pressured to prescribe
antibiotics for the common cold and inner ear infection, yet we know
that it is not prudent to do so," Besser said. "We must collectively inform
our patients about the reasons why overprescribing antibiotics will not
help patients return to work sooner, and that in the long run, could make
them more susceptible to drug-resistant diseases."
Besser said that three fourths of all outpatients' antibiotics in the
US have been prescribed for infections such as otitis media (ear
infections), sinusitis, bronchitis, pharyngitis, or non-specific upper respiratory
tractinfection.
Besser presented research showing that if unnecessary antibiotic use is
curtailed, drug resistance will diminish. In Japan, for example, 62% of
group A streptococcal isolates were resistant to erythromycin in 1974.
However, use of the antibiotic was scaled back, and in 1988, less than
2% of group A streptococcal isolates were resistant to erythromycin.
Senator Edward Kennedy, who spoke during the conference, said he and
Senator Bill Frist will introduce legislation to Congress to address
the "growing problems of antimicrobial resistance and its threat to public
health."
"One of the most urgent priorities to halt the spread of drug-resistant
pathogens is to improve the capacity of state and local public health
agencies to monitor and combat infectious disease," Kennedy said. "We
must also educate medical professionals and the public alike to reduce
unnecessary prescriptions, and halt the improper dissemination of
antimicrobial drugs."
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