1.7 billion Liras saved in antibiotic use: Minister

ANKARA

The “rational use” of antibiotics last year contributed 1.7 billion Turkish Liras ($280 million) to the country’s economy, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has said.

In a written statement on the use of antibiotics, Koca said antibiotic resistance is an important public health risk on a global scale.

Giving information about the studies on the dissemination of rational antibiotic use, Koca said that in the last year, 32,000 medical staff and 828,000 citizens were informed in 81 provinces, public spots were prepared and communication campaigns were organized.

Koca pointed out that the rational use of antibiotics was reflected in antibiotic consumption figures, noting that the number of antibiotics consumed per thousand people was 42 units in 2011, and this number decreased to 31 units in 2018.

The minister said 35 percent of the prescriptions in 2011 included antibiotics, while 25 percent of the prescriptions included antibiotics in 2017, indicating a 28.5 percent decrease in doctors’ preference of prescribing antibiotics.

“In 2011, we spent approximately 11 liras of each 100 lira spent on medicines for antibiotics, whereas in 2018, we spent about 4.5 liras of each 100 liras on antibiotics,” Koca said.

“If our antibiotic consumption had been at levels at 2011, the money spent on antibiotics in 2018 would be about 3 billion liras. This figure is now 1.3 billion liras. A contribution of 1.7 billion liras was made to our country’s budget for 2018,” he added.