Australia’s NPS announces antibiotic resistance awareness drive

According to the country’s National Prescribing Service (NPS), one in four Australians incorrectly believe antibiotics can treat a common cold. This is incorrect as antibiotics work on bacteria, not the viruses that can cause common colds. As the NPS points out, using antibiotics when they are not needed contributes to the development and spread of antibiotic resistance, which can make the drugs less effective when they really are needed.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has already identified antibiotic resistance to be a priority problem across the globe. WHO research shows that many strains of bacteria are resistant to treatment with antibiotics, less research is being done on new antibiotics, and countries with greater use of the drugs have higher levels of antibiotic resistance.

This winter, the NPS will be running its sixth “common colds need common sense” campaign, which aims to reduce inappropriate use of antibiotics for common colds, and help address the worldwide problem of antibiotic resistance. The campaign has one simple message, namely that common colds need common sense, not antibiotics.

The NPS has even launched a series of children’s books to help promote the message, with the second installment in the series now available at doctor’s surgeries, child care centers, libraries and online in an interactive format.