Italy is among a group of
EU countries with the highest percentage of bacteria resistance
to antibiotics, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and
Control (ECDC) said in a report released on Monday to mark the
7th European Antibiotic Awareness Day.
The bacteria Klebsiella Pneumoniae, which commonly causes
infection in hospitalised patients, was shown to have nearly
doubled its resistance in the EU overall to the last-line of
defence antibiotics known as carbapenems, going from 4.6% in
2010 to 8.3% in 2013.
In Italy, this bacteria's resistance to carbapenems more
than doubled, from 15.2% in 2010 to 34.3% in 2013.
The only country higher than Italy was Greece, at 59.4%.
"With a smaller number of effective antibiotics, we are
gradually returning to the 'pre-antibiotic era', when bacterial
diseases could not be treated and most patients would die from
their infection because there was no effective treatment," said
ECDC Director, Dr Marc Sprenger.
"There is an urgent need for all European countries to look
broadly at the continuum of care and tackle several factors
related to prudent antibiotic use".
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
