THE Health Protection Agency North West has launched a new campaign to bust the myth that antibiotics are a cure for all ails.
They don’t work on viral illnesses such as colds, the flu and most coughs and sore throats and should not be prescribed for such.
And the group said that inappropriate use of antibiotics is a major threat to public health and has contributed to the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections that are extremely difficult to treat.
The HPA North West is promoting effective use of antibiotics and campaigning to discourage their inappropriate use on the approach to the first ever European Antibiotic Awareness Day, being held today.
Ruth Philp, a nurseconsultant with HPA North West, said: “Appropriate use of antibiotics will safeguard their effectiveness into the future. If we continue to use them inappropriately they will lose effectiveness and we will have increasing problems with resistant bugs.”
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