‘Irrational use of antibiotics makes bacteria resistant’

LAHORE: Irrational and unjustifiable use of antibiotics by the physicians as well as patients themselves without consulting their doctors is limiting options in fight against deadly bacteria, senior health experts warned on Sunday, saying over the counter sale of antibiotics, over prescription and unchecked use of these drugs is resulting in Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), a condition where antibiotics don’t work against most of the germs.

They also criticised the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) for registering hundreds of antibiotics and making them freely available without any prescription, saying hundreds of drug companies have hundreds of brands of antibiotics, whose excessive use has become a serious public health issue in Pakistan.

“Easy availability of antibiotics is one of the most serious issues in Pakistan where people at pharmacies are selling these drugs like candies. Patients take these drugs for a day and two and when the symptoms of the disease are gone, they stop taking these antibiotics, making bacteria resistant to these drugs”, said Prof Dr Jamal Raza, a senior pediatrician while speaking at the sidelines of 17th Asia Pacific Congress of Pediatrics which concluded here on Sunday.

Hundreds of experts from various Europe, Middle East, Far East, Africa as well as United States, Australia and Canada as well as different cities of the country attended the international moot and presented their research papers on different health aspects of newborns, children and adolescents.

Terming antibiotic drugs as most important invention in the history of mankind that saved millions and millions of lives, health experts at the international moot recommended an immediate ban on the over the counter sale of antibiotics as it was leading to most serious issue of antimicrobial resistance as in case of XDR (Extensively Drug Resistant) Typhoid, which is resistant to most of the third generation antibiotics and has become a serious cause of concern for the public health experts.