Navigation

Appeal for proper use of antibiotics

Health authorities have urged people to use antibiotics correctly to ensure they can continue to combat disease.

This content was published on November 18, 2008 - 12:11

The appeal came as Switzerland joined the first European Day of information on antibiotics on Tuesday.

Although the Swiss are among the lowest consumers of antibiotics internationally, Switzerland is facing a growing number of bacterial diseases against which antibiotics are less effective.

Health officials are particularly concerned that new infections from resistant bacteria are leading to a deadlock in therapy for certain illnesses.

The day is a European Union initiative in collaboration with the World Health Organization and major health and medical science organisations.

It aims to inform the public of the risks associated with inappropriate use of antibiotics, such as use without medical prescription or in treating viral infections. The course of treatment prescribed by doctors needs to be followed until the end, even if health improves, officials say.

In compliance with the JTI standards

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

Sort by

Change your password

Do you really want to delete your profile?

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.

Discover our weekly must-reads for free!

Sign up to get our top stories straight into your mailbox.

The SBC Privacy Policy provides additional information on how your data is processed.