The widespread use of antibiotics has played a major role in the spread of antibiotic resistance. Experts warn that as microorganisms continue to modify their defense against antibiotics, healthcare workers also need to take urgent steps to make evidence-based antibiotic prescriptions to prevent resistance to these drugs.
A team of researchers evaluated the knowledge of healthcare workers in prescribing antibiotics correctly, and focused their research on primary care centers in low- and middle-income countries. The World Health Organization and other health agencies have set clear guidelines for antibiotic prescriptions, including prescription only in the presence or sufficient indication of an infection, to prevent antibiotic resistance.
Assessing antibiotic prescription at the primary care level in these countries revealed that antibiotics accounted for more than 60 percent of prescriptions in 12 of 15 countries studied. This suggests that there is a high proportion of inappropriate and unnecessary use of antibiotics, which may further increase the risk of antibiotic resistance.
Read more here – https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1003139
