NHS patients are being urged to stop nagging GPs for antibiotics and to simply rest at home as overuse is causing at least 5,000 deaths a year due to the drugs no longer being effective.
Four in 10 patients with an E.coli blood infection cannot be treated with the most commonly used antibiotics, according to a report from Public Health England (PHE).
The report recommends people suffering from coughs, sore throats and ear aches simply go home to rest rather than seeking medical treatment.
Professor Paul Cosford, medical director at PHE, said: ‘Antibiotic resistance is not a distant threat, but is in fact one of the most dangerous global crises facing the modern world today.’
Dr Chris Van Tulleken, an infectious diseases doctor at University College London Hospitals, said: ‘As an infectious diseases doctor, I see first-hand what happens if antibiotics don’t work – and it’s scary.’
This comes after experts around the world warned of an upcoming ‘post-antibiotic apocalypse’ where, in as little as 30 years time, resistance kills more people than cancer and diabetes combined.
NHS patients are being urged to stop nagging GPs for antibiotics as overuse causes deaths
Kills more than cancer and diabetes combined
Antibiotics are critical to the treatment of serious bacterial infections, such as meningitis, pneumonia and sepsis.
Yet, prescribing such drugs to resolve minor ailments like coughs, earache and sore throats encourages harmful bacteria to thrive in the body and could prevent the medication working when it is really needed.
As antibiotic overuse has rendered some drugs ineffective, it is estimated at least 5,000 deaths occur every year in England as infections cannot be cured.
Experts predict in just over 30 years, antibiotic resistance will kill more people than cancer and diabetes combined.
The crisis can also cause some infections to be more severe or prolonged.
PHE has launched a ‘keep antibiotics working’ campaign, urging people to trust their doctor’s advice around antibiotic prescriptions and recommending when to self-care ill health.
‘One of the most dangerous global crises’
Professor Cosford said: ‘Antibiotic resistance is not a distant threat, but is in fact one of the most dangerous global crises facing the modern world today.
‘Taking antibiotics when you don’t need them puts you and your family at risk of developing infections which in turn cannot be easily treated with antibiotics.
‘Without urgent action from all of us, common infections, minor injuries and routine operations will become much riskier.’
Dr Van Tulleken said: ‘As an infectious diseases doctor, I see first-hand what happens if antibiotics don’t work – and it’s scary.
‘As GPs we are often asked to prescribe antibiotics by patients who think that they will cure all their ills.
‘The reality is that antibiotics are not always needed so you shouldn’t expect to be prescribed them by your doctor or nurse.’