Cases of antibiotic resistance are on the rise and could be linked to the problem of over-prescription of antibiotics, a new report shows.
The number of resistant bacteria cases have been rising along with an increase in antibiotic prescriptions despite warnings in regards to the over-prescription of antibiotics by doctors, according to a new report by Public Health England.
It was found that antibiotic prescriptions increased by 6 percent between 2010 and 2013, and in 2013 alone around 27.4 out of every 1,000 people living in the country were taking a prescribed dose of antibiotics each day. The report also stated that over the same time period, prescriptions for antibiotics rose by 12 per cent for hospital inpatients and by 32 per cent for other community prescriptions, such as by dentists.
The over-prescription of antibiotics by doctors could put patients at risk as each time that an antibiotic drug is taken it gives the bacteria another opportunity to develop resistance to it.
Recent research in the U.S. also looked at the correlation between the over prescription of antibiotics and an increase in antibiotic-resistance infections. Scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveyed patients to identify how antibiotics are prescribed including how often and for how long. The surveyed around 11,000 patients from 183 hospitals in 10 states over a five month period and found out that almost half of those surveyed said they were given antibiotics.
it is estimated that more than 2 million people contract dangerous antibiotic-resistant infections in the U.S. every year, killing more than 23,000, according to the CDC.
Infectious diseases are caused by bacteria and viruses as well as through fungi and parasites. Certain types of bacteria can be susceptible to particular classes of antibiotics. Over the years, the overuse of antibiotics has resulted in several types of bacteria developing resistance to one or more varieties of antibiotics.
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