Britain could face "post-antibiotic apocalypse" warns CMO
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- Published: Wednesday, 25 October 2017 07:43
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Britain could face a "post-antibiotic apocalypse," without swift action to cut needless use of such drugs, England’s chief medical officer has said. Later this month Dame Sally Davies will launch a national campaign urging patients not to demand antibiotics. The BDA has responded by calling on government to step in and help front line NHS staff deliver an effective response.
The chief medical officer said patients often thought GPs were “being mean” when they refused them drugs, when in fact they were doing their best to conserve the antibiotics, so they are still available when they are truly needed. The advertisements, featuring singing antibiotics, will urge the public to take more care of the drugs, she said.
If antibiotics lose their effectiveness it will spell "the end of modern medicine" said Dame Sally, who said global action to cut antibiotic use had been “far too slow”. Speaking at conference of global experts in Berlin, she announced plans for projects to map the spread of death and disease caused by superbugs, international research and a £2.75m domestic awareness campaign in the UK.
"We really are facing, if we don't take action now, a dreadful post-antibiotic apocalypse," she said. "I don't want to say to my children that I didn't do my best to protect them and their children. The issue is too many people are getting antibiotics they don’t need.”
Meanwhile, last week it was revealed that dentists could be spreading an antibiotic-resistant superbug infection. Researchers claimed Clostridium difficile was being spread when dentists prescribed unnecessary antibiotics. The dentists were giving patients with heart conditions the antibiotics as a preventative against heart infections, it was claimed.
The British Dental Association (BDA) has responded to warnings from the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sally Davies, of a post-antibiotic apocalypse, calling on government to step in and help front line NHS staff deliver an effective response.
BDA Health and Science Chair Russ Ladwa said: “This is the century’s defining health challenge, but health professionals are still bearing brunt of patient pressure, lacking both adequate time and resources. Time-consuming treatment will struggle to compete with prescribing until government recognises and responds to the challenges front line staff are facing.”
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