More than one-tenth of antibiotic treatments ‘are failing in UK’

A new study from Cardiff University has demonstrated a high failure rate for antibiotic treatments used by UK hospitals in the last 20 years or so.

Examining data from between 1991 and 2012, it was found that more than one in ten of all antibiotic treatments in a primary care setting failed, a proportion that continues to increase.

Researchers analysed almost 11 million antibiotic prescriptions during this period, finding that common antibiotic treatment for lower respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia was the least successful of all infection classes.

It was also observed that there was a strong link between the rise in antibiotic treatment failure and an increase in prescriptions.

Professor Craig Currie from the university's school of medicine said: "Given the lack of new antibiotics being developed, the growing ineffectiveness of antibiotics delivered through primary care is very worrying indeed."

The rise of antimicrobial resistance has been deemed a healthcare emergency in the UK and worldwide, with doctors now recommended to only use antibiotics when absolutely necessary.