November 23: Experts have raised concerns about the impact of excessive use of over-the-counter antibiotics on public health.

Speaking at a programme organized in Janakpur by Madhesh Public Health Laboratory on the occasion of the 'World Antibiotic Resistance Awareness Campaign', experts advised the general public to use only the medicines prescribed by doctors.

Director of Provincial Public Health Laboratory Dr Shravan Kumar Mishra said that more than ten million people die every year due to biological resistance. He said that the misuse of antibiotics should be strictly stopped. Dr Mishra said taking antibiotics easily from drug stores and using them without doctors’ prescription can cause long-term effects on human health and even death.

He said that antibiotics are also for domesticated animals, which ultimately reach humans when they consume meat.

Dr Mishra said that this type of action should be discouraged as long-term diseases are invited by the use of antibiotics in both human health and livestock.

Director of the Health Branch under the Ministry of Health and Population Dr Rajeev Kumar Jha said that the main challenge of human life is the easy availability of antibiotics in drug stores. He said that if the use of antibiotics is reduced from now on, big problems for human health can be avoided in the coming days.