What drives antibiotic use without prescription in low- and middle-income countries?

Dr Christie Cabral and Professor Helen Lambert

by Dr Christie Cabral,  Senior Lecturer, Centre for Academic Primary Care and Professor Helen Lambert, Professor of Medical Anthropology, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol

Antibiotic resistance: a key problem

Antibiotics are life-saving drugs that treat infections caused by bacteria. However, every time antibiotics are used, bacteria can become resistant to them, making infections harder to treat. This is called antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In 2011, Dame Sally Davies, then the UK’s Chief Medical Officer, helped to make AMR a government priority. Since then, strategies have been created to help conserve antibiotics and keep them effective. These strategies are called antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and are used in the UK and around the world.

However, there’s a major problem: it’s hard to figure out quickly which infections are caused by bacteria and need antibiotics, especially when medical tests are not available, which is most places outside hospitals. … Read more