IMA asks to stop prescribing antibiotics amidst rise in the number of seasonal flu cases in India; Know why!

Amidst
increasing number of fever and flu patients across India, the Indian Medical
Association on Friday, March 3, 2023 advised the doctors to stop prescribing antibiotics.
The
seasonal cold and cough, a common phenomenon in people above the age of 50 and
below 15 years occurring during the month of October to February results in
nausea, sore throat, fever, body ache and in some cases, diarrhoea are caused
due to the H3N2 influenza virus, the medical said.
According
to the IMA, the fever usually lasts for about five to seven days and even
though the fever goes away at the end of three days but the cough can persist
for up to three weeks.
The
IMA stated that patients who suffer from this viral fever should be given only
symptomatic treatment and stop being prescribed antibiotics like Azithromycin
and Amoxicalv etc, as taking these antibiotics will lead to antibiotic
resistance and when they will actually be required for the body, it won't work
due to the resistance.
“Right
now, people start taking antibiotics like Azithromycin and Amoxiclav etc, that
too without caring for done and frequency and stop it once start feeling
better. This needs to be stopped as it leads to antibiotic resistance. Whenever
there will be a real use of antibiotics, they will not work due to the
resistance,” IMA said in its release.
"Several
other antibiotics are being misused for certain conditions and are developing
resistance among patients. For instance, 70% diarrhoea cases are viral
diarrhoea, for which antibiotics are not needed but are being prescribed by
doctors.
"The
most misused antibiotics are amoxicillin, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin,
ofloxacin, levfloxacin," the medical association further said.
IMA
further suggested to diagnose the infection
and figure out whether it is bacterial or not and accordingly prescribe
antibiotics.
In
regard to this, they cited examples of the usage of azithromycin and ivermectin
during the COVID-19 pandemic which has also led to resistance.
They
said instead of prescribing antibiotics, one should start practicing self
control and regulation.
To
prevent infection, IMA recommends to avoid crowded places, practice good hand
and respiratory hygiene and take vaccination.
According
to a 2021 research led by Washington University School of Medicine in St.
Louis, the usage of antibiotics rose in huge numbers for treating cold and
cough during the covid 19 pandemic phase in India.
“Antibiotic
resistance is one of the greatest threats to global public health,” said the
study’s senior author, infectious diseases specialist Sumanth Gandra, MD, an
associate professor of medicine and an associate hospital epidemiologist at
Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
“Overuse
of antibiotics lessens their ability to effectively treat minor injuries and
common infections such as pneumonia, which means that these conditions can
become serious and deadly. Bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics
don’t have boundaries. They can spread to any person in any country.”
According
to a report by The Hindu, the key factors for the increasing usage of
antibiotics are lack of awareness among patients and practitioners,
unrestricted drug manufacturing, and tepid regulations around antibiotic
production and distribution.
(With
inputs from The Hindu)
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