PUTRAJAYA - The tendency of Malaysians to pop antibiotics as a quick fix to a range
of ailments can lead to antimicrobial resistance that can kill.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow
Tiong Lai said the use of antibiotics among Malaysians was rising and the
number of cases of antimicrobial resistance or AMR has increased steadily.
He warned that injudicious
prescription of antibiotics can cause AMR, meaning that the drug may no longer
provide remedial effect against the microorganism which caused the sickness
concerned.
This meant that patients would
face greater health costs, possibly even risk death, when their bodies failed
to respond to the standard treatment of antibiotics when it was truly needed,
he said after opening the Annual Scientific Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance
2012 here yesterday.
"A study in 2008 involving
82 public clinics and 17 private clinics showed that the antibiotic prescription
rate for upper respiratory tract infection was 46.7 per cent among private
primary care clinics and 27.8 per cent in public primary care clinics,"
Liow said.
"In our country, we are
experiencing an increase in certain AMR cases, namely the extended-spectrum
beta lactamase and the acinetobacter (bacteria types).
"My advice to patients is to
not demand for antibiotics unless the doctors have diagnosed the need."
Liow said disciplinary action
could be taken against pharmacists who sold antibiotics without a doctor's
prescription.
Malaysian Pharmaceutical Soci-ety
president Datuk Nancy Ho said the profession had seen cases of patients trying
to "self-medicate" by requesting for antibiotics based on what they
have read on the Internet.
Lee Yen Mun
The Star/Asia News Network
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