Antibiotic consumption in Iran is 3 times that of other countries / reduction of prescriptions containing antibiotics to 36…

Chosen analytical news site (Entekhab.ir):

The head of the Food and Drug Organization emphasized the need to educate everyone about the side effects caused by arbitrary use of antibiotics, and said: “The average annual consumption of antibiotics in our country is 3 times more than the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) member countries.”

According to the public relations announcement of the Food and Drug Organization, Dr. Seyed Haider Mohammadi said in a message on the occasion of Antibiotics Awareness Week: “Today, the excessive use of antibiotics has reached such a level that it has become a threat to human health. Irrational prescription and excessive use of antimicrobial drugs in the human population and livestock and poultry farms have gradually made many microbes resistant to these drugs, and the excessive spread of this phenomenon will only lead to disaster.

Also, in recent years, resistance to antimicrobial drugs has become a global problem, and this has greatly worried the experts of the World Health Organization; To the extent that the World Health Organization has named November 18 to 24 as the World Antimicrobial Drug Awareness Week and Prevention of Microbial Resistance.

The slogan of this week in 2023, “All together to prevent resistance to antimicrobial drugs” has been named with the aim of increasing the sensitivity of policymakers, medical professionals and the general public to this issue.

The World Health Organization has stated four reasons for reducing the effectiveness of antimicrobial drugs, including arbitrary use, irrational prescription by therapists, failure to complete the treatment period by patients, and the use of residual antimicrobial drugs in livestock and poultry meat.

Antibiotic consumption statistics in Iran are higher than some countries in the world; So that the annual consumption of systemic antibiotics, which are the most commonly used antibiotics in this group, in our country is 3 times higher than the average annual consumption in OECD member countries (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). The

Increasing the excessive use of antibiotics can increase serious and even life-threatening side effects. On the other hand, this issue has very big effects on the health of society; Because some treatable diseases are now a big challenge for doctors, pharmacists and policymakers. Therefore, public awareness is very crucial in order to control antimicrobial resistance. For this reason, Antibiotic Awareness Week emphasizes on promoting the culture of correct and appropriate use of antibiotics and reducing the uncontrolled use of antibiotics and ultimately controlling microbial resistance.

According to the index announced by the World Health Organization, the average prescription containing antibiotics in Iran has decreased from 55% in 1375 to 36% in 1401. This reduction shows the effectiveness of the trainings and supervisions carried out by the Ministry of Health, Food and Drug Organization and medical sciences universities across the country.

Currently, reducing the prescription index containing antibiotics is not enough, and it is necessary to pay attention to the type of prescribed antibiotics based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization. The treatment group should pay special attention to the antibiotic group, which have a higher resistance potential and are at a relatively high risk of bacterial resistance. Because the lack of responsible consumption of this group is considered a serious threat and by continuing this process, we will be completely disarmed against microbes.

Therefore, paying serious attention to the observance of health protocols, observing the principles of prescribing and rational use of antimicrobial drugs, not arbitrarily taking antimicrobial drugs and controlling hospital infections is a serious and important solution to prevent the occurrence of microbial resistance and reduce the use of antimicrobial drugs. The mission of the Food and Drug Organization in this regard is to educate and inform the public, supervise and monitor the use of antimicrobial drugs and develop protocols for the correct and optimal use of disinfectants in medical centers.

Therefore, in order to prevent resistance to antimicrobial drugs, we must take effective steps together with the responsible participation of the medical community and the general public.