Overuse of antibiotics endanger children's health

Children are becoming powerless to fight off common infections because the antibiotics they take are unable to kill the bacteria involved, experts warn.

According to a recent study by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the overuse of antibiotics by children is to blame for bugs becoming drug-resistant for up to six months at a time. They blamed General Practitioners (GPs) for prescribing antibiotics to children too often. “Routine use of antibiotics in primary care contributes to antimicrobial resistance in children, which can persist for up to six months after treatment,” they add, in a paper published in British Medical Journal (BMJ).

Despite decades of ever-more-frantic warnings from health officials, doctors are still writing prescriptions for colds, ear infections and bronchitis, even though they do not help, the study reads. It is a priority area for the World Health Organisation, within the broader context of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), in the words of WHO Director General Dr Margaret Chan, “a slow-motion disaster”.

Local experts have voiced unease at the findings. Lebogang Koitsiwe, President of Pharmaceutical Society of Botswana said: “The results of the study are worrying. The concern must be that the reduced effectiveness of these antibiotics may force clinicians to turn to alternative agents which may be less effective, or have more side-effects, in a potentially vulnerable patient group,” he explained.

Koitsiwe urged doctors to remember that antibiotics are not ordinary medicines and must be used prudently. Adding, “We all have a part to play and it’s important for people to understand that antibiotics should be used to treat bacterial infections only, and not viruses like cold and flu”. Doctors often wind up prescribing antibiotics because of pressure from patients or parents. 

“Clinicians are concerned about patient satisfaction and the patient demand for antibiotics. But better communication by doctors about the dangers of antibiotic overuse can lead to more appropriate prescribing,” said Koitsiwe.