Antibiotic use must be reduced as much as possible, said Uga Dumpis, Chief Infectious Disease Specialist at Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital, in an interview with Latvian Television’s morning programme Rīta panorāma.
The more antibiotics are used, the faster bacterial resistance develops in the organisms being treated—that is, bacteria create defence mechanisms against the medications, Dumpis explained.
“Therefore, we must reduce antibiotic use to the maximum within safe limits, because, of course, they save lives,” Dumpis said.
He presented calculations showing that outpatient antibiotic consumption in Latvia could be reduced by 20% to 30%, while in hospitals it could be reduced by at least 10% to 20%.
Dumpis stressed that this largely depends on the responsibility of doctors, but patients should also take an interest in the matter. He explained that doctors can electronically refer patients for X-rays or tests, as well as prescribe medication. He encouraged people, for example, to observe whether fever persists the next day, and only then begin taking antibiotics.
“This gives additional opportunities to use antibiotics only when they are absolutely necessary,”
he emphasised.
The specialist acknowledged that antibiotic resistance is a global problem and that some countries have significantly higher levels of resistance.
Asked whether there is a solution to this issue—some kind of “way back”—Dumpis explained that, unfortunately, hospitals sometimes already use the term “pre-antibiotic era,” referring to situations where bacteria spread for which no antibiotics are available. Meanwhile, any new antibiotics that do appear cost 100 times more, and even to them resistance eventually develops.
He noted that the situation in Latvia “is not yet that bad,” but greater prudence is needed.
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