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According to new data released Tuesday, the health agency said that routine procedures, including caesarean sections and hip replacements, could pose greater risks if antibiotic resistance and drug shortage continued. grow.
Antibiotics are used to prevent bacterial infections associated with various medical procedures, such as surgeries, but overuse of these can lead to bacterial resistance.
Cancer patients are also more vulnerable because their cancers and treatments, such as chemotherapy, weaken their immune system and, hence, their ability to fight off infections.
According to the report, antibiotic-resistant blood flows increased by 35% between 2013 and 2017 in England, from 12,250 to more than 16,500 people. E. coli was the most common cause of bloodstream infections. Of these, 41% were resistant to the most commonly used antibiotic to treat hospital infections, co-amoxiclav.
PHE's research found that 38% of people were still waiting for antibiotics to be prescribed when they went to the general practitioner's offices or NHS walk-in clinics. in 2017, for common diseases such as cough, flu, throat, ears, sinuses or chest.
"Taking antibiotics on a case-by-case basis may seem like a harmless act, but it can have serious consequences for the health of your family and that of your family in the future," said Paul Cosford, Medical Director of Public Health England.
The agency has relaunched its "Keep Antibiotics Working" campaign to raise public awareness of the risks of excessive use of antibiotics.
"Antibiotics are an essential part of modern medicine because they protect people from infections when they are as vulnerable as possible," Cosford said.
"It is worrisome that in the not-too-distant future, more cancer patients, mothers who have had a caesarean section and patients who have had another surgical procedure face life-threatening situations if antibiotics are not successful. to prevent infections, "said Cosford.
Not enough options
"The UK has made great efforts in recent years to reduce antibiotic prescribing rates, but there is still a real need to preserve the drugs we have available for them to remain effective for those who really need it, "said Sally Davies, Medical Director. officer for England.
"The evidence clearly demonstrates that without rapid action to reduce infections, we risk putting drugs back into the dark – at an age when routine procedures we take for granted may become too dangerous and treatable diseases threaten life-threatening, "she added.
The campaign is a "good start," Rebecca Glover, an antibiotic resistance researcher at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told CNN.
But she said: "We must be careful not to impute the prescription of antibiotics to patients, who may be facing increasing financial constraints for the services of a GP, to longer appointment times. shortages and difficulties in accessing care Health professionals and patients are allies and not opponents in the fight against antibiotic resistance ".
Modern medicine "built on antibiotics"
The new data "quite fit what people in the field have been saying for a while," said Andrew Edwards, a non-clinical lecturer in molecular microbiology at Imperial College London.
"We all recognize that you need antibiotics to treat infections, but what is perhaps not really understood, is that many areas of modern medicine are based on the antibiotics, "he added, noting that cancer treatments and surgeries in particular use antibiotics" 40, 50 or 60 years and cost a few cents. "
"It does not matter if we can get better cancer treatments or better surgical techniques if we lose effective antibiotics," he said. "This is not a problem that will disappear."
During operations, bacteria can "build a stronghold and lock in sugars and proteins and colonize," which helps move the bloodstream, Edwards said.
A decrease in effective antibiotics would explain PHE discovered that the number of antibiotic-resistant bloodstream infections is already increasing at a dramatic rate.
According to the report, blood infections accounted for 6.6% of healthcare-associated infections in England in 2016.
The UK government is committed to halving the number of Gram-negative bloodstream infections associated with healthcare by 2021. These infections are among the most serious pathogens contracted in hospitals. .
"We need new antibiotics … there is a total lack of investment in the region," Edwards said. "We must also learn to use what we have more effectively.
"It's easy to point fingers at general practitioners and tell them that they should prescribe less, but bacterial infections can kill very quickly so you have to make decisions right away."
The PHE campaign urges patients not to insist that they be prescribed antibiotics, noting that general practitioners are often obliged to provide them.
"We need to get to a point where antibiotics are not seen as a miracle cure for all diseases or as an alternative" just in case, "said Helen Stokes-Lampard, president of the Royal College of GPs. "Patients must understand that if their doctor does not prescribe antibiotics, it is because they sincerely believe that their treatment is not the most appropriate."
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