The Consumer Council of Fiji has urged consumers to take antibiotics in the proper manner and stop abusing it.

This was stressed during World Consumer Rights Day celebrations yesterday.

Council officer in charge Bindula Prasad stressed the importance of not using antibiotics as a solution to all sickness, be it was the common cold or flu.

“Antibiotics are abused by consumers and medical practitioners,” Ms Prasaid said.

“The issues that are arising are the development of resistance. The council’s focus remains on the routine use of antibiotics through oral consumption.

“As soon as consumers fall sick they think antibiotics are the rescue and this subject requires urgent attention.”

President of the Fiji College of General Practitioners Dr John Fatiaki explained the differences in treating a bacterial infection as opposed to a viral infection.

“The general term is antimicrobial and these are medications that are used for the treatment or prevention of infections that are caused by microbes which means small organism,” Dr Fatiaki said.

“When you talk about antimicrobial, you mean medication that treat infections that are caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa other parasites.

“But when we talk about antibiotics it is specifically only effective against bacteria therefore if you have an infection that is caused by anything other than a bacteria then you should not use antibiotics.”

“Antibiotics are specific medications that prevent or treat infections caused by bacteria or what you call germs which cause a lot of infections like boil, typhoid, cholera which respond to antibiotics.

“But when you get a common cold or viral type of infection such as herpes these are not killed by antibiotics,” Dr Fatiaki said.

Commonly consumed antibiotics are amoxicillin, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin and penicillin.

Edited by Ranoba Baoa

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