One study showed that a third of Brazilians use antibiotics on their ownthat is, without a medical prescription. Furthermore, 24.5% use it once or more times a year. The findings are from a survey carried out by the Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases (SBI), released this Tuesday (19).
The National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) establishes that the sale of this type of medicine can only be made with a medical prescription. However, according to the research, neighborhood pharmacies, with a smaller structure and those that are not part of large drugstore chains, make up the main places cited by respondents to circumvent medical prescriptions, representing 27% of access to antibiotics without a prescription.
A (62.4%) is the main reason why people take antibiotics. Colds and flu (26.8%), sinusitis (18.8%), burning when urinating and coughing (14.1%) are other conditions that lead to self-medication. Symptoms such as muscle pain (13.4%) and (12.8%), which are not necessarily related to a bacterial infection, also appeared among the reasons for using antibiotics.
The public opinion survey was carried out in the five regions of the country, with 385 people aged 18 and over, and was conducted using an online questionnaire. The study was carried out between October 25th and November 1st this year.
The objective of the survey was to measure the population’s level of knowledge about e — a condition that occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites stop responding to medications, making people sicker and increasing the risk of spreading disease and death. The study also sought to identify patterns of antibiotic use, including self-medication and adherence to medical prescriptions.
The percentage of people who are unaware of the purpose of antibiotics is high
The study showed that, although the vast majority (92.5%) cite that antibiotics fight bacteria, only 63% understand that this type of medicine only fights this type of microorganisms. According to the survey, 37% of respondents believe that it can also be used to combat viruses, fungi and even worms and parasites.
Among the respondents who are unaware of the correct use, 72.2% have lower purchasing power, being between classes C, D and E. Most of them are resistant in the Southeast (43.1%) and Northeast (25.7%) regions. %).
“The research provides a real-life panorama of misinformation and behavioral bias that places antibiotics as a sensitive issue. And this can be attributed to several reasons such as: inappropriate and indiscriminate use that can lead to bacterial resistance; the search for several professionals until they manage to obtain a medical prescription, based on the mistaken concept that antibiotics solve everything”, explains Ana Gales, infectious disease specialist and coordinator of the SBI antimicrobial resistance committee.
More than half do not know that antibiotics can cause antimicrobial resistance
The survey also points out that 55.5% of patients are unaware to some degree that we can develop resistance to antibiotics. Furthermore, more than a third of those interviewed do not care about the issue.
In September this year, a study published in the renowned scientific journal The Lancet projected that . The analysis also showed that more than a million people died due to antibiotic resistance worldwide between 1990 and 2021.
Inappropriate use of antibiotics is related to increased antimicrobial resistance. The results of the SBI study alert to the lack of knowledge on the subject, despite it representing a global concern — last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) that causes sepsis, in addition to increased resistance to treatments of several bacteria that cause common infections among the population.
Possible solutions to combat misinformation and antimicrobial resistance
One listed the main factors related to antimicrobial resistance. In addition to the inappropriate use of antibiotics, there is also the excessive use of these medications in agriculture, environmental contamination (due to inadequate basic sanitation) and low vaccination coverage.
Another, published in the same journal in 2024, showed that interventions in this scenario can prevent more than 750,000 deaths associated with antimicrobial resistance in low- and middle-income countries, where the condition is most worrying. According to the study:
- 337 thousand deaths would be avoided with improvements in infection prevention and control;
- 247,800 deaths would be avoided with universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene services;
- 181,500 deaths would be prevented with universal coverage of high-priority childhood vaccines.
In addition to these strategies, combating the inappropriate disposal of medicines, especially antibiotics, can also be useful in combating antimicrobial resistance. “When you throw leftover antibiotics in the trash, you are also contaminating the soil. The right thing to do is to dispose of it at the pharmacy, which has a suitable place for it”, advises Alberto Chebabo, president of SBI, in a press conference in which the CNN was present.
Following the research findings, SBI launches the campaign “Do you need it? Find out about the proper use of antibiotics“.
“The initiative aims to closely monitor and reinforce the main issues regarding the prescription and appropriate use of antibiotics so that doctors, health professionals, patients and civil society are on the same page”, warns Chebabo.
