Antibiotic Resistance on Rise in Europe
Antibiotics to prevent bacterial infection in organ transplants, hip replacements, cancer chemotherapy, intensive care and neonatal care for premature babies will become ineffective due to antibiotics overuse, according to Dominique Monnet at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Approximately 25,000 deaths are caused by antibiotics in Europe each year; six by the most common infections including MSRA. Superbug infections currently add 900 million euros each year to hospital costs.
"The latest data confirms that across the European Union the number of patients infected by resistant bacteria is increasing and that antibiotic resistance is a major threat to public health," says Monnet.
Responsible use of antibiotics is advocated by the ECDC as key to preventing the development of resistant bacteria. November 18 is this year's Antibiotic Awareness Day designed to raise awareness of how to use antibiotics responsibly.
In late November, the ECDE is due to publish a new survey of intensive care specialists across Europe which reveals 21% of specialists said they had seen – within the last six months – three or more patients suffering from infections that were totally or almost totally resistant to antibiotics. 8% of the specialists had seen more that 10 such patients over the same period.
