The World Health Organization warned Monday that antibiotics consumption is dangerously high in some countries while a shortage in others is spurring risky misuse, driving the emergence of deadly superbug infections.
In a first, the United Nations health agency said it had collated data on antibiotic use across large parts of the world and had found huge differences in consumption.
The report, based on 2015 data from 65 countries and regions, showed a significant difference in consumption rates from as low as around four so-called defined daily doses (DDD) per 1,000 inhabitants per day in Burundi to more than 64 in Mongolia.
“The large difference in antibiotic use worldwide indicates that some countries are probably overusing antibiotics while other countries may not have sufficient access to these life-saving medicines,” WHO warned in a statement.
“Overuse and misuse of antibiotics are the leading causes of antimicrobial resistance,” Suzanne Hill, head of WHO’s essential medicines unit, said in a statement.
“Without effective antibiotics and other antimicrobials, we will lose our ability to treat common infections like pneumonia,” she warned.