Awareness campaign warns Belgians of excessive use of antibiotics

01/12/2017

Research demonstrates that Belgians take too many antibiotics. Furthermore, they often use them incorrectly, which can cause side effects or worse: lead to bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics. That means that in the longer term antibiotics will cease to have an effect on certain infections.

The Belgian Federal Public Service Health and the Belgian Antibiotic Policy Coordination Committee (BAPCOC) are, however, taking action and aim to change this situation. That is why, on 18 November 2017 (on the 10th European Antibiotic Awareness Day) they launched an awareness campaign focusing on antibiotics users, but also medical staff. Antibiotics are only effective against bacterial infections and are therefore no use in treating flu, colds, acute bronchitis, throat, ear or other infections caused by a virus. For one week this message (with the slogan 'Antibiotics: use them wisely and only when needed!') was distributed on many different media channels, but also via pharmacies, hospitals and doctors. Also, in an attempt to make children more aware of the dangers of antibiotics, a special edition of the Suske en Wiske (Spike and Suzy) comic called ‘Tante Biotica’ (Aunty Biotic), was handed out.

Furthermore, antibiotics can cause side effects, such as allergic reactions, stomach complaints, diarrhoea and fungal infections. Pregnant women or women who are breast-feeding together with kidney and liver patients are among those classed as high risk and must therefore be particularly careful when taking antibiotics. This is due to the fact that antibiotics attack not only the harmful bacteria, but also the helpful ones. It is therefore essential to follow the guidelines properly and patients should not decide for themselves to continue the treatment for longer or to stop prematurely, even if they are feeling better.

This year, for the first time, an e-learning course (online training) will also be offered to general practitioners, encouraging them to prescribe fewer antibiotics. Currently over 1,000 antibiotics are prescribed per 1,000 people. The campaign's objective is to reduce this number to 600 by the year 2020 and reach just 400 by the year 2025. For more info about the campaign, please go to www.correctuseantibiotics.be/en.