Antibiotics use falls for first time ever in England: report

Doctors in England have prescribed fewer antibiotic medicines to patients, reversing a trend that has seen use grow over the years, Public Health England (PHE) reported Friday.

PHE published details of its annual surveillance program to coincide with European Antibiotic Awareness Day, which falls on Friday.

The new report shows that for the first time fewer antibiotics are being prescribed by GPs (family doctors) and clinicians.

PHE said there has been a decline in the use of antibiotics across all healthcare settings, including in the community and hospitals.

"This is the first time a reduction has been seen in antibiotic use across the whole healthcare system," said a PHE spokesman in London. "Safely reducing the amount of antibiotics that are inappropriately prescribed is a vital part of the work to tackle antibiotic resistance. In 2015, 2.2 million fewer antibiotic prescriptions were dispensed in the community compared to 2014. This equates to 6 percent of all medicine prescriptions."

Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer at PHE said: "Antimicrobial resistance is the biggest threat to global health -- it could halt the progress of over a century of modern medicine."

"Reducing inappropriate antibiotic prescribing is a key element in the fight against drug resistant infections," Davies said. Endit