International Antibiotics Awareness Day

Dear HIFA2015 and CHILD2015 colleagues,

Today is International Antibiotics Awareness Day. The message below is forwarded from the forum of the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), which is a longstanding official HIFA Supporting Organisation.

"Inappropriate use of antibiotics has become a serious threat to public health globally". It is a major cause of needless death and suffering today, and threatens death and suffering on an unimaginable scale in the future. A major contributing factor is lack of access to relibable, unbiased information for prescribers and consumers. Information is either absent, or is restricted to biased marketing materials from big pharma.

I have invited Students Targeting Antibiotics Resistance Today (START) and IFMSA members worldwide to join us to promote a future where every prescriber and user has access to reliable, independent information on medicines, including and especially antibiotics.

A suggested starting point would be to make independent, reliable publications such as the British National Formulary freely available to all on the internet.

Best wishes,
Neil
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Today, Nov 18th  is International Antibiotics Awareness day.

What is the problem? Antibiotic resistance is now an everyday problem in hospitals across the globe. The selection and spread of resistant bacteria in hospitals is a major patient safety issue. Infections with antibiotic resistant bacteria increase morbidity and mortality, as well as the length of stay in hospitals. Inappropriate use of antibiotics may increasingly cause patients to become colonised or infected with resistant bacteria. There are few new antibiotics in the development pipeline. As resistance in bacteria grows it will become more difficult to treat infection and this affects patient care

Why do we need an  Antibiotic Awareness Day? The inappropriate use of antibiotics has become a serious threat to public health globally, Taking antibiotics for the wrong reasons or incorrectly causes bacteria to develop resistance against antibiotic treatments with a risk of rendering antibiotics ineffective in the future.

What is the aim of Antibiotic Awareness Day? The aim of European Antibiotic Awareness Day is to emphasis the importance of taking antibiotics responsibly by putting an end to unnecessary use of antibiotics and encouraging people to follow their doctor’s instructions on how to take antibiotics in the appropriate way. The purpose of the day is to build on and reinforce the success of national campaigns on responsible use of antibiotics

Why is responsible use of antibiotics important? Keeping antibiotics effective is everyone’s responsibility. Responsible use of antibiotics can help reverse the growing trend of antimicrobial resistance and keep antibiotics effective for the use of future generations. On this basis, it is appropriate to inform the public, health professionals and carers of the sick, elderly and children about when and how to take antibiotics responsibly.

How can I get involved? Here are several ideas on how to help support this initiative: Spread the word Talk about the International  Antibiotic Awareness Day and its significance with your friends, family, colleagues and your Patients Make use of the materials by advertising the International Antibiotic Awareness Day in newsletters, on websites, in the media and on the Internet, by inserting a link on your website, in your e-mail signature or in your blog. Organise and participate in activities.

LET'S SAVE ANTIBIOTICS FOR THE NEXT GENERATION.

On behalf of Students Targeting Antibiotics Resistance Today (START) Team
Cecilia Kallberg, Jannie Dressler, Oluwasaanu Bunmi Michael.

My source: HIFA2015