Dr. SOEURN Visal
Antibiotics are medicines used to prevent and treat bacterial infections. In many parts of the world, people do not have access to antibiotics appropriately. In Cambodia, community-acquired drug-resistant bacteria among children is linked with increased mortality, and results in a doubling of hospital admission cost.
Two main factors that cause increased antibiotic resistance are overuse and misuse of antibiotics and the lack of community-oriented information on antibiotic use. As a result of studying this emerging issue, pharmacy students are planning an Antibiotic Awareness Campaign which is going to take place in Koh Kong province early next month.
This campaign is to raise public awareness and understanding of antibiotic resistance, and to plan how to contribute to reducing antibiotic resistance in Cambodia. The students will promote global education on antibiotics, how they should be used, and the growing risks of antibiotic resistance.
