FDA urges consumers to be smart about antibiotic use

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration on Monday teamed up with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other healthcare professionals, government, academic, international and industry partners to support Get Smart About Antibiotics Week, Nov. 15 to 21, as part of a joint effort to encourage the appropriate use of antibiotics.

"Helping the public understand the implications of inappropriate antibiotic use is an important step in slowing the spread of resistance to antibiotic drugs," stated Edward Cox, director for the Office of Antimicrobial Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “While there are research efforts under way to develop new antibiotics for treating patients with bacterial infections, antibiotic resistance will always be a challenge, and we will always need to use these medicines responsibly.”