The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana has warned the public about the rising issue of antibiotic misuse, which has led to an increase in antibiotic resistance and is making treatments less effective.
Dr Samuel Kow Donkoh, the Society’s President, stated that this behaviour threatens the efficacy of existing antibiotics.
In a recent interview with Channel One TV, Dr. Donkoh encouraged the public to avoid self-treating with antibiotics, especially for illnesses like the common cold and malaria.
“There is a need for us to protect what we have. We need to safeguard the antibiotics that we currently use because when we get an infection, it is an antibiotic that we will have to use to manage the condition. If there is an abuse of these antimicrobials, resistance will continue to increase.
“Eventually, what will happen is that when you need them, they will fail you,” he stated.
Dr. Donkoh emphasised that if resistance keeps rising, antibiotics might eventually become ineffective, necessitating doctors to use several antimicrobial agents together to address infections. This will not only raise treatment costs but also heighten the likelihood of side effects.
“Now, when we have some conditions that require antimicrobial agents, we have to combine two or more. This increases the cost and risk of side effects. If one antimicrobial agent was sufficient, but due to emerging resistance, we have to combine two or three, we are exposed to more medicines, and eventually, mortality increases,” he noted.
