Far more bugs resist antibiotics

In 1993, 0.8 per cent of pneumococcal bacteria samples were resistant to penicillin; by 2003, this had risen to 28 per cent of samples.

Pneumococci are the commonest cause of infections like sinusitis, bronchitis and pneumonia.

The Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) publicised the resistance figures yesterday to highlight the start of Pharmac's annual Wise Use of Antibiotics campaign. The Government drug-buying agency urges New Zealanders to reduce unnecessary use of antibiotics in the face of winter colds and flus, which are caused by viruses.

Its medical director, Dr Peter Moodie, said people needed to be aware that bacteria-caused infections needed antibiotics but many were due to viruses and viruses did not respond to antibiotics.

"Your child may well need an antibiotic but at times the best treatment is not to have one. It's not about reducing use of the drugs, but about reducing their unnecessary use."

ESR is concerned about the increasing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics in New Zealand, which is at levels in line with global trends.

Senior scientist Helen Heffernan said the proportion of E.coli bacteria samples resistant to fluoroquinolones, a new class of antibiotics, increased from 0.1 per cent in the early 1990s to 3 per cent in 2003. E.coli caused most urinary tract infections.

She said different parts of New Zealand now had to use different antibiotics against the sexually-transmitted infection gonorrhoea, because of regional variations in antibiotic resistance.

"The standard treatment throughout New Zealand used to be ciprofloxacin. Now, because of levels of resistance to it in some areas, including Auckland, it's no longer the antibiotic of first choice.

"In other areas of the country the levels of resistance are still below 5 per cent, where you would look at making a change."

Latest figures show the number of dispensings of subsidised antibiotics has dropped by 21 per cent since Pharmac's annual campaign was launched six years ago.

Research showed that 85 per cent of New Zealanders were most likely to agree that rest and lots of fluids was the best way to treat cold and flu.

Dr Moodie said while the number of all prescriptions written was not available, it showed a good trend.

"We are not alone in this problem and globally we must ensure we don't become complacent."

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and United States medical experts recently warned that the increasing ability of bacteria to resist antibiotics now threatened the existing arsenal of drugs against dangerous infectious diseases such as HIV/Aids and malaria.

Antibiotics developed in the 1940s revolutionised the battle against bacteria, but the ability of micro-organisms to quickly mutate in order to survive poses a new challenge to the medical world, according to the preliminary conclusions of a WHO report to be released later this year.

Pharmac's advice

* Don't use antibiotics for colds and flu, which are caused by viruses. Save antibiotics for bacteria-based infections.

* The more we overuse antibiotics, the more bacteria build up resistance to them.

* The proportion of some bugs resistant to bacteria-killing penicillin has ballooned 35-fold in just 10 years in New Zealand, according to figures released in a campaign for wiser drug use.