Antibiotics News

Dame Sally Davies has said the threat of antibiotic resistance is "as important as climate change for the world."

Government's Chief Medical Officer is urging the Government to raise the issue at the G8 summit in London next month.

In a recent report she referred to the situation as a "catastrophic threat", and called for better protection of our current stock of antibiotics.

Dame Sally said we needed better incentives for the pharmaceutical industry to develop new drugs and asked ministers to ensure the issue is placed on the register.

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The threat posed by antibiotic resistance should be ranked alongside terrorism on a list of threats to the nation, the Government's Chief Medical Officer said.

The problem is a "ticking time-bomb" and should be put on the Government's National Risk Register - which also includes "catastrophic terrorist attacks" and other civil emergencies, Professor Dame Sally Davies said.

Routine operations such as hip replacements could become deadly in just 20 years time if we lose the ability to fight infection, she said.

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Dr Paul Cosford, acting Chief Executive of Health Protection Agency, has told Daybreak that the UK must develop new antibiotics.

He said: "When a bug becomes resistent to an antibiotic, we need to use new antibiotics and there aren't that many antibiotics in the pipeline."

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Daybreak's Health Editor, Dr Hilary Jones, has told viewers that the World Health Organisation have said for some years that antibiotics resistance is "amongst the top three threats to man kind in the near future."

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Antibiotics are losing their effectiveness at a rate that is both alarming and irreversible, similar to global warming, experts have warned. Daybreak's Nick Dixon reports:

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Antibiotics are losing their effectiveness at a rate that is both alarming and irreversible - similar to global warming.

I urge patients and prescribers to think about the drugs they are requesting and dispensing.

Bacteria are adapting and finding ways to survive the effects of antibiotics, ultimately becoming resistant so they no longer work.

And the more you use an antibiotic, the more bacteria become resistant to it.

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Antibiotic resistance is a complex global public health issue, the Department Of Health have warned.

Mis-use of antibiotics is causing bacteria to become resistant - the Department Of Health have said.

Some antibiotics aren’t as effective as they used to be because the bacteria they are designed to tackle have become resistant to them.

These important medicines need to be used wisely to maximise the NHS’s ability to treat infections in the future.

The increase in antibiotic resistance is a major concern that needs action at a global level, experts are warning.

The Department of Health have published new guidance on the use of antibiotics in hospitals ahead of European Antibiotics Awareness Day on Sunday.

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• Antibiotics are losing their effectiveness at an increasing rate, the Department of Health have warned.
  

• There are very few new antibiotics in the development pipeline.
• Existing antibiotics should be used wisely in order to stay effective, the Department of Health have said.

• Many antibiotics are prescribed and used for mild infections when they don’t need to be.
• Colds and most coughs, sinusitis, earache and sore throats often get better without antibiotics.
  

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• All colds and most coughs and sore throats are caused by viruses and generally these will get better on their own.
• Antibiotics do not work against infections caused by viruses, the NHS warn.
• Viral infections are also much more common than bacterial infections.
  

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