Doctor complains about misuse of antibiotics in Ghana

Dr Hansen Nortey, the Deputy Programme Manager for the National Tuberculosis Control Programme, has complained about the unnecessary use of antibiotics in the country.

According to him, the unnecessary and excessive use of antibiotics would render the drugs ineffective when the need arises to treat diseases with them.

Speaking with the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra, he said: “We all need to be cautious about the use of antibiotics because the frequent use of antibiotics makes bacteria tolerant to them hence causing antibiotic resistance.”

He referred to the pending global antibiotic resistance crisis where it has been reported that about 700,000 people die annually as a result of antibiotic resistance and the figures would increase to about one million by 2050.

In September United Nations members pledged their support to help fight antibiotic resistance, which had become a global pandemic.

Dr Nortey said people demanded the use of antibiotics for everything like common cold, diarrhoea, stomach ache, and malaria.

According to him, there should be effective rules and regulations to ensure the proper use of antibiotics and these laws must be enforced to ensure correct use.

He advised that, patients should not force health professionals to prescribe antibiotics for them when they go to the hospital for treatment because they may not need them and abide by the judgement of the medical personnel.

Dr Nortey stated that, peddlers, chemical sellers and others who are not qualified to sell antibiotics must be prevented from doing so.

“In Ghana the only qualified people who are allowed to sell antibiotics are pharmacists,” he added.

He said it was imperative for all to come together and help fight antibiotic resistance since it could become a big security and economic problem as described by the UN.

Source: GNA