The French continue to consume too many antibiotics, warns a report by Public Health France. The risk of misuse is to create resistance to bacteria, which cause more than 5,500 deaths each year.
The abuse of antibiotics is dangerous to health. Excessive or incorrect consumption of these drugs promotes resistance to antibiotics, responsible for 5,543 deaths a year in France, according to a study by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. On the occasion of the World Week for the Good Use of Antibiotics, which takes place from November 18 to 24, Public Health France, the Ministry of Health and Prevention and Health Insurance launch a prevention campaign “Antibiotics: take good care of yourself “. , is above all to use them well”.
Bronchitis, laryngitis, sore throat, flu… We take stock of the usefulness of antibiotics with Dr. Anne Berger-Carbonne, microbiologist and head of the Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antibiotic Resistance Unit at Public Health France.
Antibiotics, effective against bacterial diseases
Antibiotics work by preventing the growth of bacteria or by killing them. There are several families (penicillins, quinolones, macrolides, etc.) and each of them is only effective against a specific bacterium or family of bacteria. Therefore, they can be prescribed against diseases of bacterial origin such as:
-
cystitis
-
bacterial pneumonia
-
bacterial angina
-
bacterial meningitis
-
boil or abscess
-
acute pyelonephritis
To limit the phenomenon of resistance to antibiotics, “the duration of treatment must be scrupulously respected”, insists Dr. Anne Berger-Carbonne. The remaining medicines must be returned to the pharmacy and must never be reused for yourself or those close to you. even if the symptoms are similar.”
Antibiotics useless against viral infections
Antibiotics, on the other hand, have no effect on infections caused by a virus such as:
According to a report by Public Health France published on November 2, almost one in two French people think that taking antibiotics for a sore throat is recommended and that antibiotics allow you to recover faster. However, 80% of sore throats are viral and antibiotics do not act on symptoms such as cough, fever or headache. “The consumption of antibiotics does not allow you to recover faster from a viral infection, which is cured naturally in one or two weeks, specifies Dr. Anne Berger-Carbonne. When you have an infection of the ENT sphere, you rest at home and we take you “. antipyretics (for example, paracetamol, editor’s note) against fever, for example.
“Antibiotic resistance could become one of the leading causes of death in the world”
In its report, Public Health France is concerned about the increase in the prescription of antibiotics in 2021, in particular among children aged 0 to 4 years, after a drop observed in 2020. “About 700 antibiotic prescriptions per 1,000 inhabitants were carried out in France this year, excluding hospitalization”, stresses the doctor.
Inappropriate or incorrect use has contributed to the development and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, called antibiotic resistance. It occurs when a bacterium develops defense mechanisms, reducing or nullifying the action of antibiotics. “If antibiotic overuse habits are not stopped, antibiotic resistance could become one of the leading causes of death worldwide,” the Ministry of Health notes. According to a study by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, this resistance would cause nearly 5,500 deaths each year in France.
“Antibiotic resistance could lead to complications due to previously easy-to-treat bacterial infections, longer and more difficult-to-treat illnesses, and the use of more potent drugs to achieve treatment,” explains Dr. Berger-Carbonne. Antibiotic resistance can also lead to increased risks during surgeries in case of antibiotic resistance.
VIDEO – Resistance to antibiotics: a phenomenon that kills more people than AIDS and malaria
#thousand #deaths #year #due #misuse #antibiotics