Soon the return of the famous prevention slogan “Antibiotics aren’t automatic”? The consumption of antibiotics, which had rebounded in France in 2021 after a fall at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, continued to recover in 2022 at a more sustained pace, particularly among children, health authorities announced on Monday .
“If the consumption of antibiotics remains generally on a downward trend since 2012, it increased in 2022 at a more sustained rate than in 2021”, according to an annual study carried out by Public Health France (SPF) based on data on reimbursements made by Social Security.
14% more antibiotics consumed in 2022
The consumption of antibiotics increased by 14% in 2022, after having rebounded by around 5% in 2021. “It remains, however, at a level slightly lower than that observed in 2019”, before the Covid pandemic, specifies the study of SPF.
After a drop in the use of antibiotics in 2020, where strict anti-Covid measures (lockdowns, barrier gestures) had reduced the frequency of bacterial infections, “the years 2021 and 2022 were accompanied by a resumption of common winter infections, medical consultations and antibiotic prescriptions,” noted the agency in a press release.
Consumption among children exceeds pre-Covid level
“Significant” in children, the consumption of antibiotics in these young patients has even returned in 2022, or even exceeded, the pre-pandemic level. Among 5-14 year olds, it jumped by almost 42% over one year, to the 2019 level. Among 0-4 year olds, consumption was “higher than in 2019”, detailed SPF.
Reducing the consumption of antibiotics is an objective of health authorities, in France and in other countries, to slow down the appearance of resistant bacteria. “France is one of the European countries with the highest consumption of antibiotics,” recalls the general director of SPF, Caroline Semaille, in a press release.
Antibiotic resistance, which has worried global health authorities for years for its deadly consequences, is exacerbated by excessive or inappropriate consumption of these treatments. SPF will rebroadcast, from December, a campaign on the proper use of antibiotics, of no interest against viral infections such as bronchiolitis or the flu.