Summary
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warns of rising antibiotic use in the EU, increasing risks of antimicrobial resistance, which contributed to nearly 5 million deaths in 2019.
Between 2019 and 2023, 14 EU countries reported higher antibiotic consumption, with hospital use of last-resort antibiotics also rising.
The overuse and misuse of antibiotics remain the primary drivers of resistance.
Despite EU targets to reduce antibiotic consumption by 20% by 2030, progress is slow, with the ECDC urging stronger action to curb resistance and reassess guidelines.
Turns out the US healthcare system actually has an advantage for once: people can’t misuse antibiotics if they can’t afford them in the first place.
Antibiotics are very cheap, even without insurance. US doctors (unlike what I experienced in Europe) don’t prescribe antibiotics left and right and only when they diagnose bacterial infection.
In Europe many doctors frequently prescribe antibiotics when coming to the doctor with cold symptoms.