1 in 3 use antibiotics without prescription, WHO/Europe’s study shows

Published on November 29, 2022

Only two thirds of people in 14 countries in the WHO European Region, who took part in a recent survey, were able to say their last course of antibiotics was obtained with a medical prescription. 

1 in 3 either used leftover antibiotics from a previous prescription or obtained them without a prescription over the counter from a pharmacy or elsewhere. 

This is at least 3 times more than that reported among EU/EEA countries, in their most recent survey of citizens by the European Commission.

These preliminary findings come from a new survey into the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour around antimicrobial resistance (AMR), conducted for the first time ever in the eastern part of the Region, including the Caucasus and central Asia. 

More information here 1 in 3 use antibiotics without prescription, WHO/Europe’s study shows

Other news

Quadripartite welcomes new political commitments in fight against AMR

November 29, 2022
The Third Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance, hosted in Muscat, Oman, concluded today, where targets to address the global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) challenge were discussed for the first time. The conference and its numerical targets for antimicrobial use in the human and animal sectors will pave the way for bold political commitments at the forthcoming UN G

Malaria outbreak in Laos caused by formerly rare artemisinin resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum

December 6, 2022
In The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Varanya Wasakul and colleagues1 employed genomic analysis to characterise an outbreak of Plasmodium falciparum infections in Laos. They show that the outbreak was driven by an artemisinin resistant lineage that infiltrated the community in southern Laos during the 2020–21 malaria season, coinciding with a change in treatment policy in neighbouring countries. http