Episode #99 - Three things to keep in mind when taking antibiotics

12 May 2023 | Science conversation

Vismita Gupta-Smith, WHO Communications

WHO has been advising countries to use antibiotics rationally for decades now. Why is that? What is at risk? And how can we preserve antibiotics for our future generations? What can governments do and what can you do?

Hello and welcome to Science in 5. I'm Vismita Gupta-Smith. We're talking to Dr Hanan Balkhy today. Welcome, Hanan.

Let's start with what is at risk. Why has WHO been advising countries and people to use antibiotics rationally?

Dr Hanan Balkhy, Assistant Director-General, Antimicrobial resistance

Good afternoon. It's great to be back with you on Science in 5. I think if we just go back in history a little bit, in 1928, penicillin was discovered, which is the first antibiotic. So we're talking over eight decades now of the first antibiotic. The problem is that these antibiotics were used to kill bacteria that cause disease to humans. However, these bacteria are smart enough that they find ways to escape the effect of the antibiotics because they want to survive.

Now, so that's one part of the puzzle. The second part of the puzzle is that the antibiotics are critical for human health and also for animal health. So the modern medicine that we have the privilege of experiencing today cannot continue without effective antibiotics.

Vismita Gupta-Smith, WHO Communications

So, Hanan, you're actually describing an apocalyptic scenario almost where people may not have the protection of antibiotics, even in common injuries if we don't preserve their efficacy. Talk to us about the top three things that each of us can do to help that.

Dr Hanan Balkhy, Assistant Director-General, Antimicrobial resistance

So I think the first thing that people can do is try to take antibiotics only when prescribed by your physician or your health care provider. That's the first thing. The second thing is complete the antibiotic course based on the instructions given by the clinician. And the third thing is make sure that you're not sharing your antibiotic with family or friends because it really needs to be given based on guidance, based on the specific signs and symptoms that each individual is experiencing. Certain viral infections, they really do not require antibiotics.

When you do not complete your course of antibiotics, knowing that we have bacteria that live on our skin, live in our gastrointestinal system. So exposing these bacteria to inefficient doses or incomplete doses of antibiotics only teases the bacteria in a way, and it allows it to develop mechanisms to become irresponsive to these antibiotics. So the risk is that we will start creating superbugs.

We will allow for opportunities for these bacteria to become even stronger and then when the time comes where we really need to treat them, we won't have the effective antibiotics to do so. Now, on giving antibiotics and sharing it with other people you're actually putting them at a risk of giving them perhaps the wrong medication and also giving them the inaccurate guidance on how to use these antibiotics.

Vismita Gupta-Smith, WHO Communications

So Hanan talk to us about what governments and organizations can do to preserve antibiotics for the future.

Dr Hanan Balkhy, Assistant Director-General, Antimicrobial resistance

Now, this is also a very critical question because obviously people cannot solve this problem alone. And I think that's where WHO has given a lot of attention to antimicrobial resistance and we're really working hand in hand with three other critical organizations and many others as well. Those are the organizations for animal health, environmental, health and agriculture. And we work together to try to identify what are the best hygiene methods that need to be put in place so that, first of all, animals and humans as well are not exposed to infection so that there is less need for using antibiotics.

And this is not an easy task, but we're doing our best to move forward on that. What we're hoping also when we work with governments, we have put in place with the member states certain national action plans so that they can have the right bits and pieces that need to be done in the health care system, in the agriculture system, in the environment, to make sure that the hygiene and the cleanliness of the environments where we eat and live and where the animals are raised and where we eat our food is actually clean and we minimize to the maximum the need to use antibiotics.

So that's one critical thing. One other critical thing is making sure that people stay as healthy as possible. A good example of that is making sure that people take their needed vaccinations. And that also reduces the load of infections that will require antibiotics in general.

Vismita Gupta-Smith, WHO Communications

Thank you, Hannan. That was Science in 5 today. Until next time then, stay safe, stay healthy, and stick with science.