Antibiotic use in Malta
Antibiotics may be defined as substances produced by various species of micro organisms (bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes) that suppress the growth of other micro organisms. Common usage often extends the term to include synthetic antimicrobial agents. The idea of this paper is to discuss the use of these antibiotics in Malta. It is unfortunate that in Malta there is a high percentage of misuse of these antibiotics. Such misuse is rampant all over the world, mainly due to the illegal selling of such drugs over the counter (O.V.C) that cause self-administration of these drugs. Other problems faced by the community involve over-use and over-consumption, this being not due to O.V.C only, but also due to the fact that they are highly over-prescribed by the medical professionals in both hospital and private practices. Such over–prescribing is usually due to paranoia on the part of the patient. Recent studies have shown that a majority of antibiotics are being prescribed for viral infections, whilst an even greater number is given for minor colds.Such over use increases the rate of resistance by micro-organisms to the antibiotics, that in the long run casuses the antibiotics to be pulled out of circulation. Problems do not limit them
Therefore so that the general situation in the Maltese islands improves on the topic of antibiotics I would primarily recommend an intensive public awareness/education campaign, centred on the pharmacy since most people are more comfortable with information obtained from the pharmacist. Education should also be given to the younger generation, exposing them to the need to know information at an early age, i.e. at a secondary school level. This would allow people to know about what they are taking, and so potentially decrease the numbers of self-prescription as well as over and under use of the drug. O.V.C dispensing is a tougher point to get over. One would hope that an education campaign would reduce the number of people asking for O.V.C. Education should not only be aimed at the lay person, but also towards the healthcare professionals (pharmacists and doctors) so that the level of antibiotic prescriptions increases. This would mean less trend prescriptions as well as prescribing antibiotics for non-bacterial infections. Finally it is recommended that there is more communication between G.Ps and pharmacists as well as more stringent controls by the department of health, such as spot checks on G.Ps and audits on pharmacists. A database of the available drugs in the Maltese islands as well as a local resistance pattern would also be beneficial to the entire situation. In the long run, a change towards pharmacists prescribing the antibiotics in a method similar to the one above seems to be the best direction to move if the levels of abuse of antibiotics are to decrease. The idea of discussing the state of antibiotic use in Malta is aided by the information gathered by J.Garzia (2000), were the analysis of the different perceptions shown by different socio-economic groups toward the use of antibiotics in Malta. The groups were taken from a wide range of the population, being sectioned into doctors, pharmacists, pharmacy students and lay people, all of which were not experienced in the antibiotic community. The groups approached various points on the topic of antibiotics:
Some topics in this essay:
Antibiotic Associated,
Night Nurse,
,
Legal Issues,
OVC Education,
lay people,
increase levels,
lack knowledge,
type antibiotic,
source information antibiotics,
increase levels resistance,
main source information,
source information,
topic antibiotics,
medical records,
lay person,
information antibiotics,
trend prescriptions,
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Approximate Word count = 1891
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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