WARRINGTON Borough Council is throwing its full support behind a new campaign which warns that the inappropriate use of antibiotics is causing an epidemic of antibiotic resistance.
Public Health England (PHE) is running the campaign across the North West, including Warrington.
It seeks to highlight the dangers of taking antibiotics when they are not needed and the importance of taking a doctor’s advice.
It’s estimated that 5,000 deaths are caused every year in England because antibiotics are no longer working for some infections – that’s 13 people a day.
Despite the dangers posed by antibiotic resistance, one in four people in the North West are not aware that this is an issue. Equally, many people don’t realise that if they have taken antibiotics within the last year, then taking them again could be less effective because antibiotics are losing their effectiveness at an increasing rate.
Antibiotics are an important tool for doctors and healthcare professionals to help treat serious bacterial infections, such as pneumonia, meningococcal meningitis and sepsis (blood poisoning) and to help ward off infections during chemotherapy , caesarean sections and other surgery.
However, antibiotics are being used for everyday viral infections, such as colds and flu, where they are not effective.
Cllr Maureen McLaughlin (pictured) , the council’s lead member for public health and wellbeing, said: “Taking antibiotics when you don’t need them will not only reduce the chance of you beating an infection, but will actually work against you, as antibiotics become less effective in fighting future bacterial infection.
“Most coughs, colds, sore throats and similar viruses are not cured by antibiotics. To keep antibiotics working for you and your family, always take your healthcare professional’s advice. This can be your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.”
Council to fight “epidemic of antibiotic resistance”
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