Professor Mark Fielder, an expert in controlling the spread of infectious diseases and drug resistance, believes antibiotics are being widely misused. “We need to very quickly make sure we only use these drugs where they are most appropriate and where they are likely to have the best effect,” wrote Fielder on Reddit. “For instance we should not be treating infections caused by viruses with antibiotics as they are not designed to work on viruses only bacteria.”
One Reddit user, concerned that biological threats are thriving due to the resistance of many infections to current antibiotics, asked about drug companies reportedly not making enough antibiotics. Fielder wasn’t comforting. “We have a shortage of new antibiotics coming through the pipeline and one reason might be that these drugs are expensive to produce and only represent a small return for the developing company,” he replied. Fear confirmed, wrote one Reddit user in response.
