Media release: A call for strong leadership to reduce NZ’s dangerously high antibiotic use

Healthcare leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand must take a stronger lead on reducing high rates of antibiotic prescribing, according to an infectious disease physician.

In the latest Briefing from the Public Health Communication Centre, Associate Professor Mark Thomas of the University of Auckland and co-authors highlight that the misuse of antibiotics has positioned NZ among the nations with the highest rates of antibiotic resistance.

Dr Thomas points out that significant reductions in community antibiotic dispensing have occurred in many other countries when highly respected and influential national organisations have set ambitious goals for reductions in community antibiotic prescribing.

“Similar reductions could be readily achieved in New Zealand if community prescribers committed to prescribing antibiotics only for patients with conditions in which antibiotics do provide a health benefit.”

While Te Whatu Ora and the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP) have expressed support for efforts to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use in NZ, Dr Thomas says neither organisation has provided strong leadership for change. 

Dr Thomas estimates as much as half of community antibiotic use in New Zealand is for people who have self-limiting viral respiratory infections such as coughs, colds, and sore throats. “But we know these are not improved by antibiotic ‘treatment’.”

“We have recognised the need to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescribing for years. Failure to act more decisively will result in increased death and disability from untreatable bacterial infections in the coming decades. It is long past time for Te Whatu Ora and the RNZCGP to encourage a significant reduction in antibiotic prescribing.” 

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Further information: It is a very common belief that antibiotic treatments which are prescribed by a doctor, and are taken for the recommended number of days, do not contribute to antibiotic resistance. However, Dr Thomas says this is a myth. “All antibiotic treatments lead to a marked reduction in the number of antibiotic-sensitive bacteria, while the antibiotic-resistant bacteria multiply to higher concentrations on and in the treated person. The increased density of antibiotic-resistant bacteria on and in the treated person results in an increased risk of spread from the treated person to other people with whom they come in contact.”