NEARLY 100 years after antibiotics were discovered, a study has found most Australians are confused about when they should take them and how they work.
And this ignorance could be putting our health at risk, doctors say, with deadly superbugs on the increase because of our inappropriate use of the drugs.
A study by the National Prescribing Service found four out of five Australians expect to be given antibiotics for ear, nose, throat or chest infections.
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The chief executive of the service, Lynn Weekes, said many such infections were viral, so antibiotics did not help them, or they would resolve independently anyway.
"The infections are probably caused by the same bug as a cough or cold but when it seems more severe or they feel a bit sicker people are thinking an antibiotic might be the right thing," she said.
The study of more than 1000 people found half of them didn't know stopping taking antibiotics before the course was finished contributed to antibiotic resistance.
Only about 40 per cent knew antibiotics do not work on viruses, and even fewer knew that if antibiotics were taken for viruses they could help create drug-resistant bugs.
"If you use antibiotics haphazardly the community suffers, but what we now know is the individual will suffer as well," Dr Weekes said.
Research showed people who took unnecessary antibiotics were less likely to respond to them over the following 12 months.
In the past, antibiotic-resistant bugs were mostly seen in hospitals, but they was now spreading through the community. One particularly virulent strain, ST93-MRSA-IV, had been picked up in Queensland in 2003 but now accounted for more than half of NSW golden staph superbugs.
''It's quite a nasty bug,'' Dr Weekes said. ''It causes abscesses and bad pneumonia''.
Countries that had reduced antibiotic use had seen a decrease in resistance.
"It's clear that the amount of antibiotics you use is related to the amount of resistance you have, so it's a very direct relationship,'' Dr Weekes said.
Prescribing Service data showed Australians' antibiotics use was above the OECD average, with 40 per cent of people taking them in the past 12 months.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/nationa ... .html#ixzz1sXCEQ4NL
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