Matej Mikulic
Research expert covering health, pharma & medtech
Antibiotic use in the UK - Statistics & Facts
The use of antibiotics has become an even more important topic lately. An increasing resistance against antibiotics is the cause for huge concerns among health authorities around the globe. Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) proclaimed antimicrobial resistance as one of the largest public health threats, alongside other big issues like climate change, pandemics, and large-scale chronic diseases. Nevertheless, since the discovery of penicillin in the late 1920s, antibiotics have remained one of the indispensable tools in modern medicine.
The aim is to use less
The United Kingdom is following a general trend in developed countries, showing a tendency of decreasing antibiotic consumption. This is a reaction to the main reason for increasing antimicrobic resistance among humans, which is excessive usage of antibiotics in the past. Antibiotics are used to treat or prevent certain bacterial infections. Among the most used antibiotics is penicillin (amoxicillin, flucloxacillin, etc.), for example in the treatment of chest, skin, or urinary tract infections. The consumption of penicillin in England has declined steadily over the past years, dropping from 6.44 defined daily doses (DDD) per one thousand of the population in 2014 to 4.74 DDDs in 2020. There was, however, a slight increase from 2020 to 2021 (4.84 DDDs/1,000 population). Antibiotic consumption figures for Scotland show a very similar trend. The UK implemented a national action plan to reduce antibiotic consumption by 15 percent between 2014 and 2024.Knowledge is the key
When it comes to opinions, attitudes and knowledge about antibiotic use in the general public, one can see a mixed picture. According to a recent survey conducted in England, there was a common awareness that antibiotics are a tool to fight bacterial infections, but there were also still various knowledge gaps in that regard. Many people in England still believe that antibiotics can also be used in the treatment of viral infections, a cold, or the flu. On the other hand, many people did not know that antibiotics can be essential in heart surgeries or cancer treatment. In general, people with an infection are pleased when their physician does not make them use antibiotics. But if antibiotics must be taken, a recommendation or prescription by one’s general practitioner is rated as the most trustworthy advice.
