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European Antibiotic Awareness

Day

The first-ever European Antibiotic Awareness Day will take place across Europe on 18 November 2008. European Antibiotic Awareness Day will be an annually recurring event that will raise awareness about the risks associated with inappropriate use of antibiotics and how to take antibiotics responsibly.

In 2008, European Antibiotic Awareness Day will set focus specifically on the need for everybody to stop any unnecessary use of antibiotics.

European Antibiotic Awareness Day is a European health initiative in close collaboration with the World Health Organization, as well as many other relevant representative stakeholder groups such as health professionals and scientists.

All public authorities, healthcare professionals, child care professionals and social workers as well as private organisations, families and individuals are encouraged to take part in the initiative and to launch their own activities or discussions on responsible use of antibiotics on European Antibiotic Awareness Day.

http://antibiotic.ecdc.europa.eu/default.asp

About European Antibiotic Awareness Day

What is European Antibiotic Awareness Day?

European Antibiotic Awareness Day is a European health initiative that provides an annual opportunity to raise public awareness about the risks associated with inappropriate use of antibiotics and how to take antibiotics responsibly.

When is European Antibiotic Awareness Day?

The first European Antibiotic Awareness Day will take place on 18 November 2008. This will be an annually reoccurring event.

Where will European Antibiotic Awareness Day activities take place?

European Antibiotic Awareness Day will provide an opportunity for events to be organised across Europe to raise public awareness about the risks associated with inappropriate use of antibiotics and how to take antibiotics responsibly.

For more information about the events organised in your country to mark European Antibiotic Awareness Day, please see our section on

National Activities.At EU level, the European Antibiotic Awareness Day will be marked by a scientific briefing and press conference in the European Parliament, Strasbourg. You can find more information on this event in our section on News & Events.

Why a European Antibiotic Awareness Day?

Inappropriate use of antibiotics has become a serious threat to public health

Taking antibiotics for the wrong reasons or incorrectly causes bacteria to become resistant to antibiotic treatments. So when you do need antibiotics in the future they may no longer work. For this reason, antibiotics are losing their effectiveness at a pace that was unforeseen even five years ago. If this problem is not taken seriously and we continue to consume antibiotics at the current rate, Europe will face a return to the pre-antibiotic era where a simple bacterial infection could be a death sentence.

The latest data released by the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (EARSS) confirm that the number of patients infected by resistant bacteria is increasing and that antibiotic resistance has already become a major threat to public health.

Keeping antibiotics effective is everyone’s responsibility

Responsible use of antibiotics can help stop resistant bacteria from developing and help keep antibiotics effective for the use of future generations. On this basis, it is important to inform about when it is appropriate to take antibiotics and how to take antibiotics responsibly. Successful public awareness campaigns, which have already taken place in some countries, have resulted in a reduction of antibiotic consumption.

How will European Antibiotic Awareness Day help?

The annual European Antibiotic Awareness Day will raise the profile of campaigns across Europe to provide information on when and how to use antibiotics responsibly.

Building upon the experiences of Member States which have implemented successful national campaigns promoting responsible use of antibiotics, EU organisations are launching the European Antibiotic Awareness Day with a view to encouraging sharing of best practices and providing support for the Member States that have no national campaigns as yet.

The purpose of European Antibiotic Awareness Day is to build on and reinforce the success of national campaigns on responsible use of antibiotics.

European Antibiotic Awareness Day is aimed at supporting national antibiotic awareness campaigns in the countries where they already exist, as well as encouraging the launch of antibiotic awareness campaigns in other countries.

http://antibiotic.ecdc.europa.eu/AwarenessDay.asp

Partners

In the preparation and organisation of the European Antibiotic Awareness Day,
the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has worked through partnership and with the support of EU professional organisations and health networks.

European Society of Clinical Microbiology
and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID)

More information at www.escmid.org

Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME)

More information at www.cpme.eu

We welcome dialogue with other organisations who are interested in participating in this initiative either at national level or at pan-European level. For more information, please see our section on Partnership opportunities.

http://antibiotic.ecdc.europa.eu/partners.asp

Partnership opportunities

ECDC is looking forward to collaborating with European stakeholder organisations in the launch of the European Antibiotic Awareness Day. Whether your organisation can take part in the launch of the European Antibiotic Awareness Day in your country or you can support the pan-European awareness campaign, we will be delighted to discuss in more detail about the aims and objectives of the campaign and to provide you with an overview of our activities to date.

If you would like to have an in-depth conversation about European Antibiotic Awareness Day and the opportunities for sharing your organisation’s experience and expertise with a view to maximising the success of European Antibiotic Awareness Day, please contact us:

Sarah Earnshaw

Information Officer European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
171 83 Stockholm
Sweden

Email: EAAD@ecdc.europa.eu

http://antibiotic.ecdc.europa.eu/partnership_opportunities.asp

How can I get involved?

The European Antibiotic Awareness Day targets health professionals e.g. doctors, nurses, pharmacists as much as the general public (particularly parents and teachers). If you support this initiative, here are several ideas on how to help:

Spread the word

* Talk about the European Antibiotic Awareness Day and its significance with your friends, family and colleagues.
* Help advertise the European Antibiotic Awareness Day in newsletters, on websites, in the media and on the Internet, by inserting a link on your website, in your e-mail signature or in your blog.
* Please feel free to print and disseminate the information materials available on this website in the sections on “European Antibiotic Awareness Day Materials” and on “Facts about antibiotic resistance”.

Organise and participate in activities

* Medical Professionals
* If you are a medical professional, discuss with your patients about the importance of not over-using antibiotics and taking them correctly when prescribed.
* Put the European Antibiotic Awareness Day poster on the wall in your practice and print a few copies of the fact sheets for information.
* Teachers
* If you are a teacher, discuss with your students and their parents about the proper use of antibiotics, with the help of your school nurse.
* Parents
* Discuss with your family how best to use antibiotics.
* Take part in activities organised by the national health authorities in your country.
* Support activities organised by your children's school.

http://antibiotic.ecdc.europa.eu/get_involved.asp

When and how to take antibiotics

The aim of European Antibiotic Awareness Day is to emphasize the importance of taking antibiotics responsibly by putting an end to unnecessary use of antibiotics and encouraging people to follow their doctors’ instructions on how to take antibiotics in the appropriate way.

When should I take antibiotics?

Antibiotics are not the solution for infections caused by viruses such as common colds or flu. Antibiotics are effective only against bacterial infections. The correct diagnosis and the decision about whether antibiotics are necessary can only be made by a medical doctor.

Remember: Antibiotics won’t work in the case of cold or flu!

Antibiotics are effective only against bacterial infections - they cannot help you recover from infections caused by viruses such as common colds or flu[1].
Antibiotics do not prevent viruses from spreading to other persons.
Taking antibiotics for wrong reasons, such as against colds or flu, has no benefit for you[1, 2].
Misuse of antibiotics only causes bacteria to become resistant to antibiotic treatments[3, 4, 5]. So when you need antibiotics in the future they may no longer work[6].
Antibiotics often give you side-effects such as diarrhoea[1, 2, 7, 8]
Always seek your doctor’s advice before taking antibiotics.

How should I take antibiotics?

When the doctor has confirmed that antibiotics are necessary, it is very important to take the antibiotics in a responsible manner.

Remember: Take antibiotics responsibly!

Antibiotic use causes bacteria to become resistant to antibiotic treatments[3, 4, 5], therefore it is important not to take antibiotics for the wrong reasons or incorrectly[1, 2, 9].
Take antibiotics only when prescribed by a doctor and follow the doctor’s advice on how to take the antibiotics so that they can stay effective also in the future.
Do not keep left-over antibiotic treatments[10]. If you have received more doses than you were prescribed ask your pharmacist about how to dispose of the remaining medicines.

Why should I take antibiotics responsibly?

Wrong or incorrect use of antibiotics may cause the bacteria to become resistant against future treatments. This is a health hazard not just for the person having taken the antibiotics inappropriately but also for anyone else who might catch the resistant bacteria afterwards.

Remember: Keeping antibiotics effective is everybody’s responsibility!

Antibiotics are losing their effectiveness at a pace that was unforeseen even five years ago[11]. This is because antibiotic use causes bacteria to become resistant to antibiotic treatments[3, 5, 12].
If we continue to consume antibiotics at the current rate, Europe may face a return to the pre-antibiotic era where a common bacterial infection such as pneumonia could be a death sentence[13, 14]. So when you do need antibiotics in the future they may no longer work[6].
Do not use antibiotics for the wrong reasons or incorrectly[1, 2, 9].
Always follow your doctor’s advice on when and how to use antibiotics in a responsible way so that they can stay effective also in the future.

References

[1] - Arroll B, Kenealy T. Antibiotics for the common cold and acute purulent rhinitis. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2005, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD000247.

[2] - Fahey T, Stocks N, Thomas T. Systematic review of the treatment of upper respiratory tract infection. Arch Dis Child 1998;79(3):225-30.

[3] - Malhotra-Kumar S, Lammens C, Coenen S, Van Herck K, Goossens H. Effect of azithromycin and clarithromycin therapy on pharyngeal carriage of macrolide-resistant streptococci in healthy volunteers: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Lancet 2007;369(9560):482-90.

[4] - Donnan PT, Wei L, Steinke DT, Phillips G, Clarke R, Noone A, Sullivan FM, MacDonald TM, Davey PG. Presence of bacteriuria caused by trimethoprim resistant bacteria in patients prescribed antibiotics: multilevel model with practice and individual patient data. BMJ 2004;328(7451):1297-301.

[5] - London N, Nijsten R, Mertens P, v d Bogaard A, Stobberingh E. Effect of antibiotic therapy on the antibiotic resistance of faecal Escherichia coli in patients attending general practitioners. J Antimicrob Chemother 1994;34(2):239-46.

[6] - Daneman N, McGeer A, Green K, Low DE; for the Toronto Invasive Bacterial Diseases Network. Macrolide resistance in bacteremic pneumococcal disease: implications for patient management. Clin Infect Dis 2006;43(4):432-8.

[7] - Fahey T, Smucny J, Becker L, Glazier R. Antibiotics for acute bronchitis. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2004, Issue 4. Art. No.: CD000245.

[8] - Shehab N, Patel PR, Srinivasan A, Budnitz DS. Emergency department visits for antibiotic-associated adverse events. Clin Infect Dis 2008;47:online. DOI: 10.1086/591126.

[9] - Guillemot D, Carbon C, Balkau B, Geslin P, Lecoeur H, Vauzelle-Kervroëdan F, Bouvenot G, Eschwége E. Low dosage and long treatment duration of beta-lactam: risk factors for carriage of penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae. JAMA 1998;279(5):365-70.

[10] - Grigoryan L, Burgerhof JG, Haaijer-Ruskamp FM, Degener JE, Deschepper R, Monnet DL, Di Matteo A, Scicluna EA, Bara AC, Lundborg CS, Birkin J, on behalf of the SAR group. Is self-medication with antibiotics in Europe driven by prescribed use? J Antimicrob Chemother 2007;59(1):152-6.

[11] - European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System. EARSS Annual Report 2006. Bilthoven, Netherlands: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, 2007.