The World Health Organization says that it is concerned about the lack of effectiveness of some antibiotic drugs owing to misuse in human populations, reporting that attitudes in Sudan may contribute to this effect. After taking a survey in Sudan and 11 other countries, WHO reported “widespread public misunderstanding about antibiotic resistance.”
According to WHO, bacteria are small creatures that cannot be seen by the eye but live in the human body. Some bacteria are harmful and can cause diseases, and they are treated with drugs called “antibiotics.”
Sometimes these drugs become ineffective because the bacteria themselves change over time to be able to defend themselves against the drug. This means that a drug that was used several years ago to treat a particular kind of infection may not be effective any more because the bacteria itself has changed.
WHO says that “Over-use and misuse of antibiotics increase the development of resistant bacteria.”
The health organization encourages people not to use antibiotics to treat colds and flu because antibiotics have no impact on viruses, which cause these illnesses.
Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General said, “Antibiotic resistance is compromising our ability to treat infectious diseases and undermining many advances in medicine.”
WHO’s Dr Keiji Fukuda, a special representative on this issue, says that the global health organization wants to work with governments, health authorities and other partners to encourage people not to take antibiotic drugs unnecessarily.
According to WHO’s findings in Sudan, derived from 518 face-to-face interviews, more than three quarters (76%) of respondents report having taken antibiotics within the past 6 months; 91% say they were prescribed or provided by a doctor or nurse.
“62% of respondents incorrectly think they should stop taking antibiotics when they feel better—more than any other country included in the survey—and 80% think antibiotics can be used to treat colds and flu. Both of these statements are incorrect. These are practices which encourage the development of antibiotic resistance,” reads a press note by WHO.