(HealthDay News) — Overuse of antibiotics is one of the main causes of the dangerous health threats posed by antibiotic resistance — when the drugs are no longer effective against the diseases they were designed to fight.
Yet new research finds that antibiotic use by people rose 39 percent worldwide between 2000 and 2015, adding to the growing threat of antibiotic resistance, scientists say.
Their analysis of data from 76 countries found large increases in antibiotic use in low- and middle-income countries, and a slight decrease in high-income countries.
The study was published March 26 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
A major factor in rising rates of antibiotic resistance is inappropriate use of the drugs. For example, prescribing them for colds, which are caused by a virus and — unlike bacteria — are immune to antibiotics. (…)