According to a report by Public Health France, young children are consuming more and more antibiotics, and this is a real problem.
France 4th largest consumer of antibiotics in Europe
As the advertisement says, “antibiotics are not automatic”, a little phrase that we seem to have forgotten…Indeed, the consumption of antibiotics by the French is on the rise again and more annoying, especially in the direction of children from 0 to 4 years old, tip Public Health France.
700 antibiotic prescriptions per 1,000 inhabitants
SPF gives this figure: Approximately 700 antibiotic prescriptions per 1,000 inhabitants were carried out during the year 2021 (excluding hospitalization). Despite a continuous decline for 10 years in the consumption of antibiotics in the city, France remains the 4th most consuming European country behind Greece, Romania and Bulgaria.
Multi-resistant bacterial infections
But then, why is it annoying to prescribe too many antibiotics? The reason is simple, by eliminating vulnerable bacteria, antibiotics have a perverse effect since they let their tougher counterparts invade the field. This figure sheds some light: 125,000 infections with multi-resistant bacteria were detected in 2015 in the country, causing the death of more than 5,500 people. Toddlers are particularly affected by the upsurge in antibiotic prescriptions. If we observe a slight rebound for 15 to 64 year olds, the peak is clear for 0 to 4 year olds. Prescriptions have increased to almost the same level as in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Antibiotic prescriptions return to almost the same level as in 2019
After an accelerated drop in antibiotic prescriptions in 20202, concomitant with measures to manage the COVID-19 epidemic (confinements, adoption of barrier gestures, drop in medical consultations), the year 2021 was accompanied by a resumption of common winter infections, medical consultations and antibiotic prescriptions, particularly in the last trimester, writes Public Health France.