Press Release

Red line in a prescription indicates antibiotic; should be

consumed under supervision
Antibiotic misuse is becoming rampant in India and can prove detrimental to health

New Delhi, 30 2018: A recent study1 has indicated that clinicians prescribe antibiotics without an
infection-related diagnosis nearly half of the time. About one in five prescriptions was provided
without an in-person visit. Research also indicates that antibiotics are often prescribed for
certain symptoms (such as a sore throat or cough) when they should not be. Most of these of
illnesses are caused by viruses and therefore do not benefit from antibiotics, which only treat
bacterial infections.

According to a news update in eMediNexus.com, the misuse and overuse of antibiotics have
made once easily treatable bacterial infections harder and often impossible to cure. The reason
is that bacteria evolve rapidly to evade antibiotics, leading to drug resistance.

Speaking about this, Padma Shri Awardee, Dr KK Aggarwal, President, HCFI, said, “When
resistance occurs, the antibiotic loses its ability to control bacterial growth effectively even in
therapeutic concentrations. At the rate which misuse continues in India, this phenomenon can
turn back the clock on decades of progress in modern medicine and return us to a pre-antibiotic
era. Use of third-generation antibiotics has risen. For the last many years, no research has been
on for the discovery of newer classes of drugs. Some bacteria that have developed resistance
include Salmonella, E. coli, Yersinia pestis, Klebsiella, Shigella, and Klebsiella. Another fact that
people should be aware of is that when prescribed, one should ensure that the full course of an
antibiotic is completed without skipping a dose.”

Other contributing factors to antibiotic resistance are unsupervised dumping of pharmaceutical

waste, excessive use of last resort antibiotics, and overuse of antibiotics on farm animals.
Common infections such as those of the urinary, gastrointestinal, and respiratory tract have
become difficult to treat owing to growing resistance in bacteria causing them.

Adding further, Dr Aggarwal, who is also the Group Editor-in-Chief of eMediNexus, said, “As
part of the 25th MTNL Perfect Health Mela 2018, we at the Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI),
have taken up a campaign against misuse of antibiotics. This is in association with the National
Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and with digital support by eMediNexus. As part of the
campaign, awareness will be raised on the fact that antibiotics are scheduled and toxic drugs
that must be taken only on prescription by a health specialist.”

1
Study presented at the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)
Some tips from HCFI

● Doctors should run a drug interaction programme for every new medication prescribed
and alert the provider to serious interactions.
● There is no way anyone can remember all the drug interactions.
● EKGs should be run before prescribing many common antibiotics
● Don’t take antibiotics unless you really need them. They are not indicated for colds or
viral infections or bronchitis, where they are often misused and squandered.
● Now you are not just fueling antibiotic resistance with unnecessary antibiotics, but you
are risking death.
● Remember penicillin and chloramphenicol have less side effects but still we do not take
them unless a must then why self-prescribe more toxic latest antibiotics.
● It is important to focus on preventing infections. For instance, be at least 3-feet away
from someone who has a cough or cold.
● Bacterial infections can be avoided by following proper handwashing techniques.
● One should be careful in a healthcare setting as much as in a hospital. In a clinic with
multiple patients, beware of the door knobs and bathroom seats. All these are potential
sources of infection. Women should wipe off the toilet seat before use as it may carry a
dry infection.
● Doctors should ensure that antibiotics are written in bold or underlined with a red pen
when prescriptions are given.
● Farmers and food industry must stop using antibiotics routinely to promote growth and
prevent disease in healthy animals to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance.
● Always look for a Red Line mark in the medicine you buy, the red alert indicates that it is
an antibiotic
A case study on the misuse of antibiotics can be read by clicking the following link:
https://www.emedinexus.com/post/3668/dr-bawa-garba-case-will-increase-antibiotic-misuse
-Ends -

About eMediNexus

eMedinexus is a robust platform that addresses major doctor needs. Doctors are updated daily
with targeted curated content, including breaking news, videos, and medical quizzes, amongst
other content. It is building upon India’s oldest healthcare online newspaper, eMediNews, which
has a following of 1 lakh doctors a month and is powered by cutting edge scientific content from
IJCP Group, one of India’s oldest medical publication houses spearheaded by renowned
cardiologist Dr K K Aggarwal. It also a networking platform where doctors can connect with each
other, message and collaborate privately, connect with people they went to medical
school/university with or with people they worked with. eMediNexus will evolve to address
every major scientific need of the Indian doctor community.
Media Contact:
Rachna Kapoor – 9930991574
Email- rachna@talkingpointcommunications.com
https://www.emedinexus.com/
https://twitter.com/emedinexus
https://www.facebook.com/emedinexus/