Summary
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warns of rising antibiotic use in the EU, increasing risks of antimicrobial resistance, which contributed to nearly 5 million deaths in 2019.
Between 2019 and 2023, 14 EU countries reported higher antibiotic consumption, with hospital use of last-resort antibiotics also rising.
The overuse and misuse of antibiotics remain the primary drivers of resistance.
Despite EU targets to reduce antibiotic consumption by 20% by 2030, progress is slow, with the ECDC urging stronger action to curb resistance and reassess guidelines.
Turns out the US healthcare system actually has an advantage for once: people can’t misuse antibiotics if they can’t afford them in the first place.
Antibiotics are very cheap, even without insurance. US doctors (unlike what I experienced in Europe) don’t prescribe antibiotics left and right and only when they diagnose bacterial infection.
In Europe many doctors frequently prescribe antibiotics when coming to the doctor with cold symptoms.
I guess it depends. They’re not that trendy here in Germany. In fact I think the last time I got some was 15 years ago when I cought lymphatic tract inflammation after getting bitten by an insect. Since this was most likely a bacterial infection that can lead to sepsis. No antibiotics since then. So from experience I’d say they’re not prescribed just because.
The other problem is that basically the same amount of antibiotics is used for livestock. And this was a way bigger percentage about 15 years ago.
Most antibiotics are actually super cheap here. Yeah, not much else is.
The report in question:
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/antimicrobial-consumption-ESAC-Net-annual-epidemiological-report-2023_0.pdfAnd the data on usage:
Very interesting graph. It clearly shows a reduced antibiotic consumption during the corona pandemic in most countries. Probably due to the use of facemasks reducing the number of situations requiring antibiotics.
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