Globally‚ 700 000 people die each year from drug-resistant infections‚ and there are fears that without intervention‚ this will increase to 10 million by 2050.
“In a post-antibiotic era‚ infections will become untreatable. Antibiotic resistance in an individual patient is evident for one month following an antibiotic course and can last for up to 12 months‚” the researchers said.
The most common error recorded in the 2016 Cape Town study‚ involving 654 patients‚ was that diagnoses were not entered in medical records.
The researchers called for targeted antibiotic education for healthcare professionals and patients‚ with a special focus on the worst-performing clinics.
On its website‚ the South African Antibiotic Stewardship Programme says South Africa needs a “strong‚ coordinated‚ and urgent response” to over-prescribing.
“Clinical governance of antibiotic prescribing through dedicated programmes and infection-control practice must be strengthened if we are to control the situation‚” it says.
- Madeline Harvey is on a SIT Study Abroad programme with Round Earth Media.