We need to “wage a war” on the growing resistance to antibiotics or risk wasting one of the most important medical advances of the past 100 years, a HSE consultant microbiologist has warned.
Speaking in advance of the launch of a HSE campaign to raise awareness of the overuse, Dr Fitzpatrick, HSE clinical lead for the prevention of healthcare- associated infection, said if overuse is not tackled “we will be back to an era where people become gravely ill or die because we have run out of effective antibiotics”.
Irish antibiotic consumption is mid-to-high compared to other European countries, a recent report showed.