The Plasmid and Microorganism Collection of the UG’s Faculty of Biology would like to welcome you to an exhibition organised under the patronage of the National Antibiotics Protection Programme, the Ministry of Health and the European Union on the occasion of World Antibiotic Awareness Week.

The exhibition can be viewed in the lobby of the Faculty of Biology building until 31 January 2016 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.   

Admission free. 

On 18 November this year laboratory workshops on the subject of antibiotics were held for primary and low-secondary schools. As part of the classes, students had the chance to see bacteria under the microscope, listen to the story of the discovery of sulphonamides and penicillin, find out what an antibiogram is and how it is obtained and also get to know the microorganisms which produce antibiotics.

Use antibiotics wisely

The growing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics constitutes a global health risk. Each year, in the European Union and the United States alone, around 48,000 people die as a result of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Over a past few decades the number of antibiotic groups which can be effectively used on people has sunk from 15 to 3.

Experts warn that unless we stop the process of increasing drug resistance, we will soon be facing the spread of common bacterial diseases which we will not be able to treat, moving medicine back into the early 1930s. Lack of antibiotics will not only render the treatment of bacterial infections impossible but will also undermine the achievements of modern oncology and transplantology, as it will restrict the effectiveness of cancer therapies or organ transplants.

The phenomenon of growing antibiotic resistance can be prevented. In order to slow down the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria, it is important that antibiotics are used appropriately and responsibly.  So this year, on the initiative of the World Health organisation, we celebrated the first World Antibiotic Awareness Week between 16-22 November. The campaign slogan, “Use antibiotics wisely” is aimed at both doctors and patients.  

We would like to remind readers that the common cold, runny nose or flu, as well as most upper respiratory tract infections are caused by viruses, which means that antibiotics are inefficient in the treatment of these conditions and therefore should not be used at all.

Complied by: Dr Anna Karina Kaczorowska