The month of November puts the spotlight on the proper use of antibiotics. With two highlights, European Antibiotic Awareness Day on 18 November and World Antibiotic Awareness Week from 18 to 24 November. And the stakes are high, with the rise of antibiotic resistance, which in France alone is responsible for more than 5,000 deaths each year. A new awareness campaign on the proper use of antibiotics has just been launched in early October 2022.
France, fourth in Europe for the consumption of antibiotics
In France, more than 120,000 people each year develop an infection linked to bacteria resistant to one or more antibiotics . A major public health issue at national and global level, which combines both human health and animal health. Because the proper use of antibiotics is based on an appropriate prescription of these drugs both in humans, but also in domestic and livestock animals.
Recently, Public Health France published its report on the consumption of antibiotics in the city sector for the decade 2011-2021. A report which confirms that France remains a country that consumes a lot of antibiotics in human health. Despite several information and awareness campaigns, one of the strong messages of which was: “antibiotics are not automatic”. This report reveals that during the year 2021, approximately 700 antibiotic prescriptions per 1,000 inhabitants were recorded, i.e. nearly one prescription per inhabitant per year, and this in the city alone.
French people who still believe that antibiotics are effective against viruses
During the decade 2011-2021, the consumption of antibiotics in France remained among the highest in Europe, apart from the year 2020, strongly marked by the Covid-19 pandemic. In general, the consumption of antibiotics is tending to decrease, but France still ranks fourth in Europe in terms of antibiotic consumption, behind Greece, Romania and Bulgaria. While the decline is noticeable, particularly among the elderly, antibiotic prescriptions remain high among young children, especially during the winter season.
However, each antibiotic prescription can contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance, if the antibiotic is not the right drug for the situation. It is important to remember that antibiotics are only indicated to treat bacterial infections. In the face of viral infections, they are ineffective. Similarly, the antibiotic must be adapted to the bacterium responsible for the infection, both to ensure its effectiveness and to limit the development of bacterial resistance mechanisms.
The fight against antibiotic resistance involves two complementary methods :
- Training and raising awareness of health professionals , called upon to prescribe antibiotics in a reasoned way. For example, in the case of angina, a diagnostic orientation test (TROD) allows the doctor to confirm or not the bacterial origin of the infection and therefore to assess the interest of antibiotics;
- Information and awareness of the general public , because still too many people think that antibiotics can cure all infections, including viral infections. Thus, 53% of French people think that antibiotics are effective against the flu and 65% against bronchiolitis, these two infections being however viral.
European Antibiotic Awareness Day: the risk of returning to a world without antibiotics
The proper use of antibiotics is essential to limit the development of antibiotic resistance. Bacteria can be naturally resistant to some antibiotics. And the misuse of antibiotics contributes to the development of new resistance and the emergence of multi-resistant bacteria. In hospitals, health professionals are increasingly confronted with infections linked to bacteria resistant to several classes of antibiotics, sometimes to all classes of antibiotics currently available. If the phenomenon progresses, the world could find itself in the same situation as before the appearance of the first antibiotics. When a common bacterial infection today could lead to the death of a child, an elderly person or even a healthy adult.
To continue to raise awareness among the general public, Public Health France, the Ministry of Health and Prevention and Health Insurance launched a prevention campaign in early October 2022, on the theme “Antibiotics: good treatment is first use them well”. With better informed patients, public health authorities hope to observe a reduction in the consumption of antibiotics in the general urban population.