World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week – let’s keep antibiotics working
18 to 24 November is World Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Awareness Week and the World Health Organization is encouraging people to “Act now: Protect our present, secure our future.”
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial agents. As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents become ineffective and infections become difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.
Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to our health. Learn how we can all make a difference in just 2 minutes.
What do you need to know?
- Antibiotics are powerful medicines but won’t work for every illness – most coughs, colds and sore throats get better without them.
- Only take antibiotics when prescribed by a qualified healthcare professional.
- Always finish your course of antibiotics exactly as prescribed – don’t save them for later.
- Never share antibiotics with others – what’s safe for one person may be harmful for another.
- Unused or expired antibiotics should always be returned to a pharmacy for safe disposal.
- Using antibiotics responsibly today helps protect children’s health and keeps them working for the future.
- Don’t buy them online, overseas, or ‘under the counter’ – they may not work, could cause harm, and may mean the wrong treatment, wrong dose, or fake medicines.
- Using antibiotics when they are not needed means they might not work when they are.
- Not every dental infection needs antibiotics – your dentist will give the right treatment.
- Know when to seek urgent help – and when self-care is the safest option.
- Your GP will only prescribe antibiotics if they are really needed – to protect you now and in the future.
- Helpful information – including how to care for a child at home, symptoms to look out for, and when to seek advice from a pharmacist or GP, call NHS 111, or attend A&E – is available on the NHS West Yorkshire Healthier Together website.
