Sale of antibiotics without doctor’s prescription must be stopped, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday during her meeting with Professor Timothy E Walsh, Director of Biology Department of Ineos Institute of Antimicrobial Research, Oxford University, United Kingdom. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that earlier community clinics in Bangladesh were giving antibiotics which has been completely stopped. Now, antibiotics are being given through the public hospitals based on the prescription of doctors.
Antibiotics are not sold without prescriptions in the developed countries. However, in Bangladesh, one can just go to a pharmacy and get whatever wants. Though there is no national-level statistics on the use of antibiotics in the country, researchers based on surveys address the situation as dire. Antibiotics are sold without prescription almost everywhere, and people use them often for any common malady, even cold and viral fevers. Thus overuse of antibiotics without proper medical supervision is threatening lives in Bangladesh. Such careless use of antibiotics, coupled with the common practice of deviating from the prescribed courses, is giving rise to antibiotic-resistant infections. Already the misuse of antibiotics, prescribed by doctors and sold readily by pharmacists has rendered a large portion of the population resistant to the effect of antibiotics. Therefore, authorities concerned should imply a range of actions to stop misuse of antibiotics and ban the sale of these drugs at pharmacies without prescription.
Authorities concerned should imply a range
of actions to stop misuse of antibiotics and
ban the sale of these
drugs at pharmacies without
prescription
Antibiotic resistance is a worldwide problem that is increasing at varying rates in different regions. Bacteria-fighting drugs known as antibiotics help control and destroy many of the harmful organisms that make people sick. But overuse and misuse of antibiotics prompt some strains of bacteria to make a small change in their DNA and become antibiotic-resistant “superbugs”. Globally, superbugs are responsible for seven lakh deaths each year; the number could be more than 10 million by 2050 if things go unchecked, according to WHO.
Reportedly, more than 30 per cent people in the capital have become resistant to antibiotics. This is indeed an antibiotic resistance catastrophe as a result of their excessive use. In order to limit it, a regulatory system should be introduced. If we are unable to stop the practice, at one point all the antibiotics in the world will become useless, and bacteria and disease will become rampant. That is why it is very important that we tackle this issue as soon as possible with the highest level of efficiency. Also, emphasising the need for ensuring the proper use of antibiotics, doctors need to evaluate the effectiveness of their treatment and antibiotics must be prescribed only if unavoidable.
