Theincreasingresistanceofbacteria
to antibioticsisa globalthreat.Weallhave
asharein the fight to overcome it
PUBLIC HEALTH
“A
box of amoxi-
cillin,please,”I
askedtheshop
assistant. I’d
hada tip-offyou
could buy an-
tibioticswithoutaprescriptionin
thisgrocerystoreservingthePolish
communityinatownintherural
westofEngland.
Sureenough,noquestionsasked,
shereachedintoa cabinetnexttothe
checkoutandpulledouta packetof
penicillinfromavarietyofdrugs.I
paid£15.29,thankedherandleftwith
24 tablets.NeithershenorI hadany
ideawhethertheyweretheappropri-
atetreatment,howmanytimesa dayI
shouldtakethemorforhowlong.
Itisillegalinmostoftheworld,
including theUK andPoland,to
dispenseantibioticswithoutapre-
scriptionfroma medicalprofession-
al.Butmypurchasewasn’tjustagainst
thelaw,itwasalsocontributingto
whatDominiqueMonnetoftheEu-
ropeanCentreforDiseasePrevention
andControl(ECDC)calls“amajor
publichealththreat”– theincreasing
resistance of bacteria to antibiotics.THEDISCOVERYOFPENICILLIN
90 yearsagorevolutionisedmedi-
cine.“Beforeantibiotics,thousands
diedfrombacterialdiseases,suchas
pneumonia,orinfectionfollowing
surgery,”explainsMonnet,headof
theECDC’sdiseaseprogrammeon
antibioticresistance.Antibioticsnow
preventwomendyingafterchild-
birth,pre-termbabiessuccumbingto
bugsthey’retooweaktofightoff,and
elderlypeopleperishingfromuri-
narytractorgastrointestinalinfec-
tions.Theyzapbacteriaresponsible
forinfectionsrangingfromacneto
tuberculosisandareusedtotreatand
preventillnessinlivestockaswellas
humans.
Butthesemiracledrugsarelosing
theirpowerbecauseofoveruseand
misuse.Asa result,weareindanger
ofenteringwhattheWorldHealth
Organization(WHO)hascalled“a
post-antibioticerainwhichcommon
infectionsandminorinjuriescan
onceagainkill.”Inthisscenario,Mon-
netsays,“organtransplants,cancer
chemotherapy,intensivecareand
othermedicalprocedureswouldno
longer be possible. Bacterial diseases51