Survey finds people don't link re-use of antibiotics with resistance

A major global survey of recent antibiotic users found that many people are concerned about antibiotic resistant dis-ease strains. However, the study also found that few respon-dents realized that using left-over drugs, from an uncom-pleted previous course of treatment, was a contributory factor in the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria. Based on these findings, which were sponsored by global drug giant Pfizer and presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Nice, France, earlier this month, the expert committee over-seeing the survey proposed a series of tailored antibiotic education campaigns to encourage proper use of the drugs.

The Compliance, Modalities by Population, Lifestyle and Geography Study (COMPLy) was carried out by the Gallup Organization during late 2005. A combination of face-to-face and telephone interviews was conducted with 4,500 respondents in 11 countries: Brazil, China, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Turkey and the USA.

"Creating an ideal environment for bacteria"