From IPP Media:
Local and international pharmacists have expressed fears over the abuse of antibiotics, saying if the trend would continue at the present rate, curable infectious diseases, would be sending majority of the people to the grave early.
``In Tanzania the predicament of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is alarming,`` said Zaina Msami, a renowned pharmacist at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT) project-Mission for Essential Medical Supplies (MEMS).
Addressing a press conference in Arusha yesterday, Msami said some of the causes of AMR were incorrect dispensing, failure to adhere to rules of antibiotics taking and misuse of the drugs in animal feeds such as chicken and pork to speed up their growth.
``You can`t imagine, nearly two thirds of people take antibiotics without medical doctors prescription or check up,`` she explained.
In northern Tanzania, for instance, the study has shown that 81.3 per cent of malaria patients had SP resistance, she said, adding that Ampicillin was defiant to treatment of urinary tract infections in 17.4 per cent of pregnant women. ...more
Showing posts with label antibiotics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label antibiotics. Show all posts
Monday, May 11, 2009
Monday, July 21, 2008
Antibiotic ignorance leads to drug-resistant superbugs: Report
From the Vancouver Sun:
People who self-medicate with leftover antibiotics are helping to spread drug-resistant superbugs, according to a report based on a survey that found widespread ignorance about antibiotic use among Canadians.
"A large proportion of the general public is uninformed about antibiotics, and are therefore susceptible to misinformation," says a June report by Les Etudes de Marche Createc, which conducted the survey for the Public Health Agency of Canada.
It found almost one in three Canadians either wrongly believed antibiotics are effective against colds or didn't know if they are. Only 44 per cent knew antibiotics kill bacteria but not viruses.
Close to half incorrectly thought recent use of an antibiotic protects against re-infection or didn't know whether it does. In fact, recent antibiotic use increases the risk of infection by resistant bacteria. ...more
People who self-medicate with leftover antibiotics are helping to spread drug-resistant superbugs, according to a report based on a survey that found widespread ignorance about antibiotic use among Canadians.
"A large proportion of the general public is uninformed about antibiotics, and are therefore susceptible to misinformation," says a June report by Les Etudes de Marche Createc, which conducted the survey for the Public Health Agency of Canada.
It found almost one in three Canadians either wrongly believed antibiotics are effective against colds or didn't know if they are. Only 44 per cent knew antibiotics kill bacteria but not viruses.
Close to half incorrectly thought recent use of an antibiotic protects against re-infection or didn't know whether it does. In fact, recent antibiotic use increases the risk of infection by resistant bacteria. ...more
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Canada lags on labelling drugs to warn of C. difficile
From the Hamilton Spectator:
Health Canada has not followed the lead of the U.S. by updating its warnings on certain drugs that increase the risk of contracting C. difficile.
This despite the critical connection between C. difficile and antibiotics.
American drug regulators updated a number of warnings as a result of reports from some Canadian and U.S. cities that specific strains of C. difficile were causing more severe disease than had been seen previously, said a spokesperson with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA started seeing post-marketing reports of C. difficile-associated diarrhea with deaths or other serious consequences, such as colectomy, the surgical removal of part of the colon.
The use of antibiotics is a major issue with C. diff because patients who have been treated with specific antibiotics are at greatest risk of contracting the disease. ...more
Health Canada has not followed the lead of the U.S. by updating its warnings on certain drugs that increase the risk of contracting C. difficile.
This despite the critical connection between C. difficile and antibiotics.
American drug regulators updated a number of warnings as a result of reports from some Canadian and U.S. cities that specific strains of C. difficile were causing more severe disease than had been seen previously, said a spokesperson with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA started seeing post-marketing reports of C. difficile-associated diarrhea with deaths or other serious consequences, such as colectomy, the surgical removal of part of the colon.
The use of antibiotics is a major issue with C. diff because patients who have been treated with specific antibiotics are at greatest risk of contracting the disease. ...more
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Antibiotic use before first birthday linked to asthma later in childhood: study
From the Montreal Gazette:
Children treated with antibiotics in their first year of life appear to have a significantly higher risk of developing asthma compared with babies not given the drugs, a Canadian study suggests.
The study, published in the June issue of the journal Chest, found that the risk for asthma doubled in tots receiving antibiotics for non-respiratory infections, as well as for youngsters who received multiple antibiotic courses and who did not live with a family dog before their first birthday.
"Antibiotics are prescribed mostly for respiratory tract infections, yet respiratory symptoms can be a sign of future asthma," said lead author Anita Kozyrskyj of the University of Manitoba. "This may make it difficult to attribute antibiotic use to asthma development." ...more
Children treated with antibiotics in their first year of life appear to have a significantly higher risk of developing asthma compared with babies not given the drugs, a Canadian study suggests.
The study, published in the June issue of the journal Chest, found that the risk for asthma doubled in tots receiving antibiotics for non-respiratory infections, as well as for youngsters who received multiple antibiotic courses and who did not live with a family dog before their first birthday.
"Antibiotics are prescribed mostly for respiratory tract infections, yet respiratory symptoms can be a sign of future asthma," said lead author Anita Kozyrskyj of the University of Manitoba. "This may make it difficult to attribute antibiotic use to asthma development." ...more
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Only one class of antibiotics remains effective against gonorrhea: U.S. CDC
From CBC News:
The wily gonorrhea bacterium appears to be en route to vanquishing yet another class of antibiotics, leaving just one last weapon in the arsenal to fight this very common sexually transmitted disease.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control on Thursday urged American doctors to stop using all antibiotics in the fluoroquinolone class to treat gonorrhea, a decision prompted by rising rates of resistance among gonorrhea strains isolated in the United States and beyond.
Doctors should instead use antibiotics from the cephalosporin class, said Dr. John Douglas, who noted this is the only remaining class of drugs effective against the infection. He also warned there are no new antibiotics in the pharmaceutical pipeline to fight gonorrhea. ...more
The wily gonorrhea bacterium appears to be en route to vanquishing yet another class of antibiotics, leaving just one last weapon in the arsenal to fight this very common sexually transmitted disease.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control on Thursday urged American doctors to stop using all antibiotics in the fluoroquinolone class to treat gonorrhea, a decision prompted by rising rates of resistance among gonorrhea strains isolated in the United States and beyond.
Doctors should instead use antibiotics from the cephalosporin class, said Dr. John Douglas, who noted this is the only remaining class of drugs effective against the infection. He also warned there are no new antibiotics in the pharmaceutical pipeline to fight gonorrhea. ...more
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