Overuse of antibiotics in Australia is driving the rate of drug-resistant infections

In Australia, the continued overuse of antibiotics is leading common and potentially dangerous infections to become increasingly resistant to drugs, including last-resort treatments.

A major government report on antimicrobial use, released on Wednesday, reveals more than a third (36.6%) of the population had at least one antimicrobial prescription subsidized by the Australian government in 2022, up from 32.9 % in 2021.

Overuse and overuse of antibiotics and antifungals causes insects to mutate so that common medications are no longer effective at killing them, a phenomenon known as antimicrobial resistance.

Drug-resistant infections kill hundreds of Australians every year, according to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care report.

Australia ranks seventh among developed countries for community antimicrobial prescribing rates. Antimicrobial use in Australian hospitals is estimated to be almost three times that of the European country with the lowest use, the Netherlands.

The report attributes this high prescribing rate to the lack of continuous improvement in the adequacy of prescribing in public and private hospitals. The drugs were overused to prevent infections during and after surgery, and the report also reveals increasing use of antifungals in hospitals, which could lead to resistance in the future.

A senior medical adviser to the commission, infectious diseases specialist Professor Peter Collignon, said there was also a cultural expectation in Australia that there was a pill or tablet for every problem.

But antibiotics don’t work against viruses, such as those that can cause colds and flu, with rest and treating symptoms often being the best option.

The reality is we’re handing out a lot of antibiotics when we don’t need them, Collignon said.

People need to understand that if you take antibiotics when they are not needed, it can lead to an increase in superbugs, which can then spread to others. Use may also cause side effects in about 5% of people, and although these are usually minor, some can be serious.

So there are many good reasons to change our culture and start asking questions every time we are prescribed an antibiotic, such as: Do I definitely have an infection that can be treated with this?

Although the report reveals that antimicrobial use in the community has declined significantly, and for the first time in 2020 and 2021, this was largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw health measures such as confinement, wearing masks and social distancing lead to fewer illnesses. overall and less need for treatment.

Prescription rates have started to rise again in 2022, with antimicrobial use highest in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Collignon said it’s important that people continue to maintain good hygiene regardless of the pandemic, including washing their hands frequently and staying home when sick.

The report describes common pathogens such as gonorrhea, Staphylococcus aureus and E coli as increasingly resistant to common antibiotics.

Meanwhile, a number of pathogens have been reported by laboratories to be increasingly incapable of responding to last-line antimicrobial drugs. The most common of these was CPE, a bacteria that in rare cases can invade the blood or tissues and cause serious infections. Nationally, there was a 37.4% increase in reports of ECC resistance to last-line treatments in 2022 compared to 2021.

The World Health Organization estimates that antimicrobial resistance could cause up to 10 million deaths each year by 2050.