Professor Mary Horgan:

I was asked by Deputy Murphy O'Mahony about antibiotic resistance and whether training was enough. More than training is required. There needs to be ongoing education, not only of health-care professionals but of the public too. Not all infectious diseases I see require antibiotics. Many of them are viral infections for which there may not be any treatment. It is often fluids and paracetamol that cure those. People are under pressure to get back to work and get their kids to school and it is important to keep that in mind, but ongoing sustained education of the public is important. Immunisation is important also, in particular for influenza. We had another outbreak this year. There is a very effective vaccine available. While it changes a little from year to year, it is safe and effective and it prevents infections. There are other vaccines, for example the pneumococcal vaccine which prevents a certain type of pneumonia. With that, one can reduce the use of antibiotics. A lot of us may also prescribe courses of antibiotics which are a bit too long. Using shorter courses of antibiotics can cure a lot of the infections we see.

Lastly, it is important to educate doctors on prescribing the correct antibiotic for the appropriate infection. Sometimes doctors prescribe very broad spectrum antibiotics for an infection such as cellulitis which can be targeted with a very narrow range antibiotic. This is just a reminder on prescribing. Just because an antibiotic is new and more expensive does not mean that it is the best one for a particular condition. There is a need for ongoing education and training on prescribing that should be integrated in our daily practice.