Reminding that antibiotics are one of the greatest discoveries of medical science for the benefit of humanity, Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology expert Prof. Dr. Meral Sönmezoğlu said that unnecessary and excessive use of antibiotics, apart from the appropriate use, created antimicrobial resistance, which is the biggest health hazard in the 21st century, and that the World Health Organization (WHO) started to ring alarm bells in this regard.
Stating that this year’s theme of DAFH is “Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance Together”, Prof. Dr. Sönmezoğlu called on all sectors to encourage the careful use of antimicrobials and to strengthen measures to prevent antimicrobial resistance by working in cooperation with the “One Health” approach.” he said.
THE CORRECT USE OF ANTIBIOTICS HAS BEEN MANDATORY!
“According to research, it is estimated that bacterial resistance caused about 1.27 million deaths in 2019,” said Prof. Dr. Meral Sönmezoğlu said, “Beside this fact, big economic losses have become a big problem especially in low and middle income countries. As the production of new antibiotics is now very difficult and there is no good news on the horizon, it has become imperative to properly manage the available antibiotics.”
IN THE LAST 10 YEARS, ANTIBIOTIC USE IN OUR COUNTRY HAS INCREASED BY APPROXIMATELY 33 PERCENT!
Stating that the World Health Organization’s (Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS)) surveillance system for monitoring antimicrobial resistance, the decisions to be taken have begun to be determined. Dr. Meral Sönmezoğlu gave the following information:
” First of all, with the antibiotic classification called AWARe, the rules for antibiotic use were determined and started to be followed. According to the first results of the review, the use of antibiotics in our country has increased by 32.87 percent in the last 10 years, and while the antibiotics to be chosen first should be at least 60 percent of all antibiotics, this rate is around 40 percent in our country. In addition, our country is among the countries with the highest antibiotic resistance.”
TURKEY IS AMONG THE COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST ANTIBIOTIC USE!
Underlining that the use of antibiotics is the main driving force of antimicrobial resistance (AMD), Prof. Dr. Meral Sönmezoğlu said, “Unfortunately, our country’s antibiotic consumption is among the highest in the WHO European Region. However, a new electronic prescription system has been developed to monitor and control antibiotic use in Turkey. The system monitors the prescription data and gives feedback to the physician.”
HOW CAN ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE BE CONTROLLED?
Stating that Turkey is a member of the WHO Antimicrobial Drug Consumption Network and the data are in line with WHO international standards, Prof. Dr. Meral Sönmezoğlu talked about what needs to be done to control antibiotic resistance:
“First of all, antibiotics should be used only when the doctor recommends and for the period determined by the doctor. Most of the upper respiratory tract infections, which are the diseases for which antibiotics are prescribed most, develop due to viruses, not bacteria, on which antibiotics are effective, and antibiotics do not have any effect. However, patients or their relatives should not be asked to prescribe antibiotics to their physicians. Antibiotics should not be kept at home and antibiotics should not be offered to others. Antibiotics should not be used as antipyretics and pain relievers. One of the most important points is the use of antibiotics at the right time. Antibiotics should not be stopped before the recommended time, but they should not be used longer than necessary.