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Rise in use of antibiotics in Switzerland

Antibiotic use on the rise again in Switzerland
Antibiotic use is on the rise again in Switzerland Keystone-SDA

The consumption of antibiotics has risen in Switzerland since the Covid-19 pandemic. However, compared to other European countries the Alpine country has one of the lowest levels of antibiotic usage.

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In human medicine, overall antibiotic consumption rose to 10.8 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day in 2023, compared with 8.6 in 2021. Consumption has thus returned to a similar level to 2019 (10.6), according to the Swiss Antibiotic Resistance Report 2024.

+ Swiss antibiotics prescriptions doubled during pandemic

The large wave of respiratory tract infections recorded in winter/spring 2023 probably played a role in this, the report says.

+ Swiss government wants to tackle antibiotic resistance

Since 2014, the use of particularly critical antibiotics has fallen by 26% in 2023. At the same time, the share of less critical products has risen to 66% of total consumption.

Translated from German by DeepL/sb

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