Antibiotic misuse

This poster from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "Get Smart" campaign, intended for use in doctors' offices and other healthcare facilities, warns that antibiotics do not work for viral illnesses such as the common cold.

Antibiotic misuse, sometimes called antibiotic abuse or antibiotic overuse, refers to the misuse or overuse of antibiotics, with potentially serious effects on health. It is a contributing factor to the development of antibiotic resistance, including the creation of multidrug-resistant bacteria, informally called "super bugs": relatively harmless bacteria (such as Staphylococcus, Enterococcus and Acinetobacter) can develop resistance to multiple antibiotics and cause life-threatening infections.[1]

  1. ^ Harrison JW, Svec TA (April 1998). "The beginning of the end of the antibiotic era? Part II. Proposed solutions to antibiotic abuse". Quintessence International. 29 (4): 223–9. PMID 9643260.