As part of a series of activities to mark World Antibiotic Awareness Week, held from November 12 to 19, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) is advising the public that incorrect use, especially overuse, of antibiotics is making a growing number of infections harder to treat.
“Antibiotic resistance is becoming one of the biggest threats to global health according to the World Health Organisation. We need to change the way in which people view and use antibiotics,” said HE Dr Hanan Mohamed al- Kuwari, Minister of Public Health, who chaired a plenary session on antibiotic resistance during the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) in Doha this week.
“The need to reduce antibiotic resistance is being addressed within the Enhanced Health Protection priority area of Qatar’s National Health Strategy 2018-2022. Antibiotic resistance not only threatens the effective prevention and treatment of infections, but also contributes to higher medical costs, longer hospital stays, and increased mortality,” added Dr al-Kuwari.
Dr Abdullatif al-Khal, HMC’s deputy chief medical officer and head of Infectious Diseases, said antibiotics are medicines that are used to treat or prevent infections, but he warned against their misuse.
“Antibiotics are an essential part of many patients’ treatment plans as they work by stopping the growth of bacteria that may be causing a problem in the body. When antibiotics are used incorrectly they can become less effective. Incorrect use of antibiotics, especially overuse, is making it harder to treat many infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, and salmonellosis, as the antibiotics are becoming less effective,” added Dr al-Khal.
According to Dr Muna al-Maslamani, medical director of HMC’s Communicable Disease Center, in recent year’s antibiotic resistance has risen to dangerously high levels across the world.
“Every day, our clinicians are witnessing the damaging effects of antibiotic resistance which threaten our ability to treat common infectious diseases,’’ said Dr al-Maslamani.
Throughout World Antibiotic Awareness Week, HMC is educating the public about antibiotic resistance and advising people how to take antibiotics responsibly. People should inform the  physician of any allergies prior to receiving any antibiotics and women should inform their doctor if they are pregnant. People should also take the complete course of antibiotics prescribed according to the physician’s instructions, even if they feel better. Never take antibiotics prescribed for someone else and do not reuse any of the old prescriptions.

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