Illustrative stock photo (source: SME)
THE CONSUMPTION of antibiotics in Slovakia is higher than the European Union’s average. On the other hand, the consumption in veterinary is several times lower.
“It shows that the biggest problem of antibiotics is that people take them and have them prescribed without reason,” Petra Vargová Čakovská from the Association of Consumers’ Protection in Poprad told the press, as quoted by the SITA newswire, “in a few years we will be in situation when they will not be effective.”
The press conference was held on the occasion of the World Consumer Rights Day, whose main topic this year is restriction of antibiotics consumption and healthy diet.
Antibiotics should not be part of the food intake of a healthy person, said Zuzana Bírošová from the Agriculture Ministry, who also leads the National Contact Centre for Scientific and Technical Cooperation with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
“The antibiotics are medicaments which kill or stop the growth of microorganisms, so they are used for treatment,” Bírošová said, as quoted by SITA. “The danger emerges from their unwise use to treat people or animals, but also because their remainders make it to the environment.”
Moreover, excessive use may result in resistance to antibiotics. As a result, an increasing number of people have died because of infectious illnesses, Bírošová added.
Though Slovaks use many antibiotics, it is lower than in the past, Vargová Čakovská said.
