Although antibiotics need to be treated with great care, common misunderstandings about their use are contributing to rising antibiotic resistance, according to a new World Health Organization survey released Monday.
"Antibiotics are too precious in our arsenal to fight life threatening conditions and we need to handle them with great care," Nata Menabde, executive director of the World Health Organization office in New York, said at a press conference here.
The survey -- which was completed by some 10,000 people in 12 countries, including China -- showed that the majority of people are aware that antibiotic resistance poses a threat to their families, but that they do not necessarily know what they can do to help solve the problem.
For example, said Menabde, many people believe incorrectly that antibiotics can be used to treat cold and flu.
"Sixty-four percent of respondents believe that antibiotics can be used for cold and flu which is not true," Menabde said. "Antibiotics are not effective against the viruses and still so many people use them and believe that they are effective for those conditions."
Another common misconception is that it is okay to stop taking antibiotics when the patient feels better, which is also untrue, Menabde said, adding that patients should take the full course of antibiotics as prescribed by their doctor.
Menabde also said that overall many people are not aware that it is not humans who will become resistant to antibiotics but that it is the bacteria itself.
"It is the bacteria not human and not animals that will become resistant to antibiotics," she said.
Matthew Rycroft, permanent representative of the United Kingdom to the UN, said at the press conference that the antibiotic resistance -- also known as antimicrobial resistance or AMR -- is already causing 700,000 deaths per year and that this number may increase to 10 million people by the year 2050.
"We define this as the most important issue that you've never heard of," said Matthew Rycroft, who holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for November.
"Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most significant public health challenges that we face, nationally and globally, it's a global issue and it's not something that any one country or one region can tackle alone," said Rycroft.
Rycroft said that the United Kingdom and China have recently announced a joint-fund to tackle the problem.
"During the recent state visit to the UK by Chinese President Xi (Jinping) we announced a joint fund with China which aims to attract one billion pounds of investment to stimulate the international resource to deal with AMR," he said.
Rycroft also emphasized that addressing the problem was about antibiotics being prescribed and used correctly, and not necessarily about reducing their use in circumstances where they were appropriate.
"In some developing countries, in fact, where there are issues with access we need to ensure that steps that we take tackle excess and don't hinder access," he said.
Nov. 16 to 22 is the first ever World Antibiotic Awareness Week.
