Antibiotic Awareness Week ‘Take the pledge’ to fight antibiotic resistance |25 November 2016
As Seychelles marks Antibiotic Awareness Week, health professionals and individuals alike are being asked to ‘take the pledge’ to fight antibiotic resistance.
Antibiotic Awareness Week is an annual, global event to raise awareness about the serious health issue of antibiotic resistance. The event encourages people around the world to use antibiotics responsibly. The week arose from Antibiotic Awareness Day, which takes place globally on November 18 each year. 2016 represents the 2nd year of our ongoing campaign to reduce antibiotic resistance and educate Seychellois about the steps they can take to preserve the miracle of antibiotics.
The campaign aims to create behaviour change and drive down inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in Seychelles by delivering targeted education programmes to health professionals and analysing data on antibiotic prescribing.
This year the campaign has a heavy focus on antibiotics as a precious resource requiring all Seychellois, including health professionals and consumers, to handle these medicines with care.
The global movement
In 2015, the World Health Organisation (WHO) formally announced the first global Antibiotic Awareness Week. Previously there was a global awareness day on November 18.
Recognising the importance of the issue, WHO decided that a dedicated week was needed to raise awareness about steps we can all take to reduce the threat of antibiotic resistance.
The campaign ‘Handle antibiotics with care’
During the global Antibiotic Awareness Week campaign, our aim is to create behavioural changes that drive down inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in Seychelles by health professionals and misuse of antibiotics by the public. The campaign reminds everyone that:
- • Misusing antibiotics can cause harm
- • You could be passing on antibiotic resistant bacteria
- • Antibiotics are a precious resource that should be handled with care
Key messages:
- • Antibiotics can have negative side effects
- • Only take antibiotics when your doctor says you must
- • The overuse and misuse of antibiotics is leading to antibiotic resistant infections
- • Antibiotics can’t cure viral infections like colds or flu
- • You are part of the solution
Misuse of antibiotics can cause harm
As well as adding to the threat of antibiotic resistance, misusing antibiotics has other risks. Antibiotics can cause side effects. When antibiotics are necessary, the benefits far outweigh the risks, but when they are not needed, you are taking an unnecessary risk.
Between 1 and 10 in every 100 people taking antibiotics will experience these common side effects:
- • Stomach problems like diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting
- • Thrush infections, which can affect the mouth (white patches will be visible) and in women can also occur in the vagina (causing itchiness, pain and discharge).
Other less common side effects are:
- • Ongoing diarrhoea caused by an intestinal infection, which may be serious and require further investigation and treatment
- • Allergic reactions, such as hives (large, red, raised areas on the skin), fever and breathing problems.
You could be passing on antibiotic resistance
The more antibiotics are used, the more chances bacteria have to become resistant to them. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria can develop after antibiotic use. These bacteria can be passed on to your contacts and family members. You can make antibiotic resistance worse if you:
- • Use antibiotics when you don’t need them
- • Use old packs of antibiotics for a new infection
- • Share antibiotics among friends or family
- • Don’t take antibiotics as your doctor prescribes, including the right amount and at the right time.
Handle antibiotics with care
This Antibiotic Awareness Week, Ministry of Health Medicine Wise is educating its health professionals on the ‘why’ and ‘how’ to handle antibiotics with care.
Antibiotics are a precious resource that are losing their power. There are simple steps that health professionals and individuals can take to ensure they use antibiotics appropriately.
For health professionals this means adhering to best practice prescribing guidelines and having the sometimes difficult conversations with patients when antibiotics are not appropriate.
For the community it is important not to pressure your doctor for antibiotics when you have a cold or flu because these are not bacterial infections. The more antibiotics are used, the more chances bacteria have to become resistant to them. This can then make bacterial infections much harder to treat when you do have one.
This Antibiotic Awareness Week, health professionals and individuals alike will be asked to ‘take the pledge’ to fight antibiotic resistance.
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