DOH warns public vs antibiotic resistance

MANILA— The Department of Health has warned the public against antibiotic resistance as the COVID-19 pandemic persisted, its spokesperson said Friday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire made the remark after UK health authorities flagged a surge in antibiotic-resistance infections during the pandemic.

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"If di na tumatalab sa atin ang mga antibiotics sa mga sakit na nagkakaroon tayo ngayon, maaaring dadating tayo sa panahon na patuloy na kakalat ang infectious diseases sa buong mundo, not just in the Philippines, dahil di na tumatalab ang ordinaryong gamot para sa atin. Hopefully we do not get to that point," she told reporters.

(If antibiotics no longer work against illnesses, there might come a time that infectious diseases will continue to spread around the world, not just in the Philippines, because ordinary drugs are no longer effective.)

Antimicrobial resistance occurs when "bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death," according to the World Health Organization.

"As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines become ineffective and infections become increasingly difficult or impossible to treat," it said.

The public is urged to take antibiotics based on their doctor's recommendation, Vergeire said, as she issued caution against self-medication.

"Nakikita kasi natin ngayon kaya tumataas ang resistance sa ating bansa, kapag may nararamdaman nang kaunting sakit sa lalamunan, maga-antibiotic na," she said.

(We can see that our country's resistance is increasing because people take antibiotic over little things such as feeling pain in their throat.)

"Gusto lang po namin magpaalala sa ating mga kababayan na magkaroon po tayo ng tama na pag-inom ng gamot. The antibiotics we use should be prescribed by physicians."

(We just want to remind the public to follow the correct intake of drugs.)

Pharmacists are also urged not to dispense antibiotics without proper prescriptions, Vergeire added.

"Nananawagan tayo sa mga botika, drugstores, bilihan ng gamot, 'wag po tayo magdidispense ng antibiotics kung walang proper prescription ng mga doctor," she said.

(We call on drugstores not to dispense antibiotics without a doctor's proper prescription.)

"'Yung over-the-counter selling of these antibiotics nakaka-contribute po sa pagtaas ng resistance ng antibiotics sa ating bansa."

(The over-the-counter sale of these antibiotics contribute to the rise of antibiotic resistance in our country.)

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