WHO reveals 'dangerous' misuse of antibiotics across the world as it lists the countries using too many, too few or the wrong types of medicines

  • Doctors in Mongolia hand out more than three times as many drugs as in Europe
  • Experts say prescribing too many or too few medications can be damaging
  • And some countries are using last resort drugs which are meant to be preserved 

‘Urgent’ action is needed to tackle the global misuse of antibiotics, the World Health Organization today warned.

The UN body has compared data from 65 countries to reveal the nations which dish the drugs out the most and least often.

Doctors in Mongolia are guilty of prescribing the most antibiotics per person, according to the WHO analysis. At the other end of the scale, Burundi in Africa had the lowest rate.

Antibiotics have been doled out unnecessarily by GPs and hospital staff for decades, fuelling once harmless bacteria to become superbugs.

And countries using too many, too few, or the wrong types of antibiotics may all be adding to the risk of medicines becoming less effective against common illnesses.

Some countries use too many antibiotics whereas others don't use enough and the World Health Organization has warned 'urgent action' is needed to avoid diseases like pneumonia becoming untreatable

Some countries use too many antibiotics whereas others don't use enough and the World Health Organization has warned 'urgent action' is needed to avoid diseases like pneumonia becoming untreatable

'The large difference in antibiotic use worldwide indicates that some countries are probably overusing antibiotics,' the World Health Organization warned.

'While other countries may not have sufficient access to these life-saving medicines.'

There is a need to 'take urgent action, such as enforcing prescription-only policies, to reduce unnecessary use of antibiotics,' said Suzanne Hill, the head of the WHO's essential medicines unit.

The WHO, which wrote the report, warned that both too many antibiotics or not enough can contribute to antibiotic resistance.

Europe has an average of 18 defined daily doses per 1,000 people – whereas Mongolia has more than 64.

This suggests a figure which is too high, overuse of medicines allows bacteria and viruses to get used to the constantly-used drugs.

But in Burundi, near the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the rate is just 4.4 daily doses – suggesting people don't have enough access to medicines.

Not having enough can be just as damaging because people may only take half a course, meaning what's left of the infection will learn to survive.

COUNTRIES USING THE MOST ANTIBIOTICS (Daily doses per 1,000 people)

  1. Mongolia (64.4)
  2. Iran (38.78)
  3. Turkey (38.18)
  4. Sudan (35.29)
  5. Greece (33.85)
  6. Serbia (31.57)
  7. Montenegro (29.33)
  8. Romania (28.5)
  9. South Korea (27.68)
  10. Tanzania (27.29) 
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COUNTRIES USING THE FEWEST ANTIBIOTICS (Daily doses per 1,000 people)

  1. Burundi (4.44)
  2. Brunei (5.92)
  3. Azerbaijan (7.66)
  4. Philippines (8.21)
  5. Uzbekistan (8.56)
  6. Jordan (8.92)
  7. Netherlands (9.78)
  8. Peru (10.26)
  9. Armenia (10.31)
  10. Ivory Coast (10.68) 
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Ms Hill added: 'Overuse and misuse of antibiotics are the leading causes of antimicrobial resistance.

'Without effective antibiotics and other antimicrobials, we will lose our ability to treat common infections like pneumonia.'

Other countries with particularly high use of antibiotics are Iran, with 39 daily doses per 1,000 people, Turkey with 38, Sudan with 35 and Greece with 33.

The data is incomplete and only includes 65 countries, with the US, Australia, China and India left out.

The most commonly used drug worldwide is amoxicillin – a member of the penicillin family, which is the first line of defence but can already be resisted by bacterial infections like MRSA.

And some countries are more guilty than others of readily using back-up medicines, which are stronger versions supposed to be saved for when frontline drugs fail.

Italy, Spain and Japan are heavy users of these drugs, which the WHO says need to be preserved for future use.

In Italy, two per cent of all antibiotics given are taken from the 'reserve' category, more than six times as many as in Britain, where the figure is just 0.3 per cent. 

HOW ANTIBIOTIC USE VARIES AROUND THE WORLD – COUNTRIES RANKED BY HIGHEST NUMBER OF DAILY DOSES PER 1,000 PEOPLE
Country Doses per 1,000 people per day Country Doses per 1,000 people per day
Mongolia 64.41 Iceland 17.87
Iran 38.78 Bosnia & Herzegovina 17.85
Turkey 38.18 Denmark 17.84
Sudan 35.29 Portugal 17.72
Greece 33.85 Belarus 17.48
Serbia 31.57 Czech Republic 17.18
Montenegro 29.33 Canada 17.05
Romania 28.5 Norway 16.97
South Korea 27.68 Albania 16.41
Tanzania 27.29 Hungary 16.31
Cyprus 27.14 Lithuania 15.83
Italy 26.62 Russia 14.82
France 25.92 Japan 14.19
Belgium 25.57 Costa Rica 14.18
Georgia 24.44 Burkina Faso 13.78
Slovakia 24.34 Sweden 13.73
Poland 24.3 Slovenia 13.48
Ireland 23.27 Moldova 13.42
Brazil 22.75 Latvia 13.3
New Zealand 22.68 Austria 12.17
Luxembourg 22.31 Estonia 12.13
Tajikistan 21.95 Germany 11.49
Malta 21.88 Ivory Coast 10.68
UK 20.47 Armenia 10.31
Croatia 20.28 Peru 10.26
Bulgaria 20.25 Netherlands 9.78
Kosovo 20.18 Jordan 8.92
Bolivia 19.57 Uzbekistan 8.56
Paraguay 19.38 Philippines 8.21
Finland 18.52 Azerbaijan 7.66
Spain 17.96 Brunei 5.92
Krygyzstan 17.94 Burundi 4.44
Kazakhstan 17.89 Source: WHO

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