World Antibiotic Awareness Week aims to increase awareness of global antibiotic resistance and to encourage best practices among the general public, health workers and policymakers to avoid the further emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance.

What is the need for antibiotic awareness week?

The need for this awareness campaign is the ever-increasing antimicrobial resistance.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses, and fungi.

In the last 30 years, no major new types of antibiotics have been discovered.

What does this mean?

Without urgent action, we are heading towards a post-antibiotic era, where common infections and minor injuries can once again kill

Therefore, we need to keep in mind only one thing….

We need to reduce the need of antibiotics by preventing the infections to occur by

1. Providing better hygiene
2. Using Clean water and maintaining sanitation
3. Vaccination.

Everybody can be part of this awareness campaign  by spreading 3 things across

1. Use antibiotics only when prescribed by the healthcare professional
2. Complete the full prescription even after you feel better
3. Never share antibiotics with others or use leftover prescriptions.