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TK survey: So few antibiotics have not been prescribed for 20 years

2020-10-31T11:32:50.306Z


43 percent less than in 2019: Because people are less likely to be infected with other infections and avoid visiting the doctor, there has been an enormous decline in antibiotic prescriptions. That's good news.


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Tablets: antibiotics are prescribed less often

Photo: Lorna Rande / Design Pics / imago images

During the first corona wave in spring 2020, fewer antibiotics were prescribed than it has been for 20 years.

This was the result of a survey by the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK).

She evaluated medication prescriptions of the more than five million TK insurees, as the company announced.

The number of antibiotic prescriptions issued fell by 43 percent in April and May compared to the same period of the previous year.

Extrapolated to the approximately 34 million employees subject to social security contributions in Germany, around 11.7 daily doses were prescribed.

In the same period of the previous year it was extrapolated to 20.5 million.

"Part of the sharp decline could come from the fact that fewer people with slight complaints went to the doctor during this time," said Jens Baas, TK's CEO.

At the same time, the measures to contain the corona pandemic contributed to the fact that other infectious diseases were less able to spread.

Corona strengthens the general trend

According to the information, the development follows the general trend to prescribe fewer antibiotics for mild colds.

According to this, in 2010 30 percent of patients with mild respiratory diseases received antibiotics, in 2019 it was only just under 15 percent.

"In the case of severe infections, antibiotics can be the method of choice. In the case of viral infections, antibiotics not only do not help, they can even be counterproductive because they can lead to resistance in the long term," said Baas.

The downward trend in prescribing is therefore very welcome, as it maintains the effectiveness of antibiotics.

Antibiotic resistance has long been seen as a major threat.

Because the agents are used in animal fattening and are often prescribed for comparatively mild complaints, more and more ultra-resistant bacteria, so-called "super germs", have developed in recent years.

They can no longer be fought with antibiotics.

Doctors are currently mostly powerless against the intestinal bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae.

The number of deaths in Europe has increased sixfold in just a few years.

In the USA around 35,000 deaths are attributed to "super germs" each year.

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mhe / dpa

Source: spiegel

All life articles on 2020-10-31

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