In its message on World Health Day 2011, the WHO urged intensified global commitment to safeguard antibiotics for future generations. Growing resistance by microbes to antibiotics threatens the continued effectiveness of many medicines. WHO therefore made antimicrobial resistance the theme of this year’s World Health Day.
“The time for sustained action is now, since we are slowly but surely moving towards a reversion to the dreadful pre-antibiotic era”, said Samlee Plianbangchang, WHO’s Regional Director for South-East Asia. “If that happens, death and disease due to untreatable infectious diseases will become the biggest obstacle to poverty alleviation, development, and global efforts to make the world a better and more healthy place”.
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Posted: May 3rd, 2011
The percentage of children who received antibiotics for acute otitis media (AOM) did not change significantly after a 2004 clinical practice guideline recommended “watchful waiting” for certain patients, according to data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS). However, analgesic prescribing increased 71% after the guideline strongly recommended treating pain associated with AOM. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: March 30th, 2010
Antibiotics are known to cause digestive issues, but could they be making Americans fat? Dana Ullman, expert in homeopathic medicine, covered this issue in an article on the Huffington Post. He said scientific literature shows antibiotics play a role in weight gain, and suggested homeopathic treatments as a safe, effective way to avoid antibiotics.
He noted as far back as 1955 research showed weight gain may be linked to prolonged antibiotic usage. He said it is well known among farmers that livestock who ingest a lot of antibiotics experience disruption in the digestive tracts causing their food to not properly assimilate, leading to significant weight gain. Healthy bacteria in the gut help animals (and humans) metabolize fat, but antibiotic usage can disrupt proper fat metabolism.
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Posted: March 25th, 2010
Infants and young children who take antibiotics may have an increased risk of developing a rare type of intestinal blockage, according to a new study.
The results of the study do not prove that antibiotics cause the complication, known as intussusception. The researchers think that antibiotics may be just one of several factors that contribute to intestinal blockage in young children. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: March 22nd, 2010
Antibiotics are the most commonly prescribed drugs in Irish children, an RCSI study has found. The HRB Centre for Primary Care Research at the RCSI investigated the rate of antibiotic prescriptions among children in Ireland.
Antibiotics represent one-third of all prescriptions in Irish children. The high rates of antibiotic prescribing are an increasing concern with rising antimicrobial resistance and the associated burden on the health service, the study found. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: March 18th, 2010