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CDC warns about overuse of antibiotics

May 09, 2000

WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - In an effort to reduce the growing numbers of

drug-resistant bacteria, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) are urging physicians to stop prescribing antibiotics where

the drugs are not necessary.

Director of Antimicrobial Resistance for the CDC, Dr. Besser, told

an audience of physicians attending a medical conference that each year US

physicians write $50 million worth of prescriptions that are ineffectual and

unnecessary. A common reason for unnecessary prescriptions is patient demand

for treatment.

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" We are facing a crisis because doctors are pressured to prescribe

antibiotics for the common cold and inner ear infection, yet we know that it

is not prudent to do so, " Besser said. " We must collectively inform our

patients about the reasons why overprescribing antibiotics will not help

patients return to work sooner, and that in the long run, could make them

more susceptible to drug-resistant diseases. "

Besser said that three fourths of all outpatients' antibiotics in the US

have been prescribed for infections such as otitis media (ear infections),

sinusitis, bronchitis, pharyngitis, or non-specific upper respiratory tract

infection.

Besser presented research showing that if unnecessary antibiotic use is

curtailed, drug resistance will diminish. In Japan, for example, 62% of

group A streptococcal isolates were resistant to erythromycin in 1974.

However, use of the antibiotic was scaled back, and in 1988, less than 2% of

group A streptococcal isolates were resistant to erythromycin.

Senator Kennedy, who spoke during the conference, said he and Senator

Bill Frist will introduce legislation to Congress to address the " growing

problems of antimicrobial resistance and its threat to public health. "

" One of the most urgent priorities to halt the spread of drug-resistant

pathogens is to improve the capacity of state and local public health

agencies to monitor and combat infectious disease, " Kennedy said. " We must

also educate medical professionals and the public alike to reduce

unnecessary prescriptions, and halt the improper dissemination of

antimicrobial drugs. "