Antibiotics, also known as antimicrobials are a group of drugs that kill or prevent the growth of microorganisms which often are responsible for causing a number of diseases in humans and other animals. Therefore, antibiotics are used to treat diseases caused by these microorganisms which may be bacteria, protozoa and fungi. The majority of these microorganisms are bacteria and most often, the word “antibiotic” is used to refer to drugs that kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria.
Use of antibiotics to treat common ailments is a daily practice in Uganda especially with the readily available antibiotics over the counter in pharmacies and some drug shops and this has given birth to the rampant antibiotic resistance.
Antibiotic/antimicrobial resistance can be defined as the ability of bacteria and other microorganisms to resist the effects of antibiotics to which they were once sensitive.
This poses a very big threat to global health as a number of infections such as pneumonia, Tuberculosis, Gonorrhea, typhoid among others have become hard to treat as antibiotics formerly used against them have become less effective. This leads to longer hospital stays, increased medical costs and increased mortality (number of deaths). It is, therefore, the responsibility of patients, health workers and veterinarians to minimize this resistance against antibiotics through the following strategies:
- Never demand antibiotics when your health worker says you don’t need them.
- Always take and complete your full dose of antibiotics even when you begin to feel better.
- Never share your antibiotics with another patient or use leftover drugs.
- Prevent infections that would require antibiotics to be treated by washing hands, preparing food hygienically, avoiding close contact with sick people, practising safe sex and keeping vaccinations up to date.
- Farmers should avoid using antibiotics in animal feeds.
- Health workers should only prescribe and dispense antibiotics when needed.
- Health workers should report antibiotic-resistant infections to surveillance teams.