The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Christopher Snowden, and the Faculty of Medicine are calling on all staff and students, to become Antibiotic Guardians.
Antibiotic resistance is one of the most significant threats facing society today, and the overuse of antibiotics contributes to the development of bacterial resistance. More and more antibiotics are being prescribed, often when they are not actually needed. For example, antibiotics have little or no effect in coughs, colds or flu.
A national campaign has been launched to invite people from all walks of life to pledge to reduce antibiotic use. Last year 10,000 people signed up. This year the target is 100,000.
Sir Christopher and the Faculty of Medicine have taken this pledge.
Professor Iain Cameron, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, said:
“Without effective antibiotics many routine treatments will become increasingly dangerous. Setting broken bones, basic operations and chemotherapy all rely on the availability of antibiotics that work.
“We need to reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics to aid the fight against antibiotic resistance. I would like to extend an invitation to all members of the University of Southampton, staff and students alike, to become Antibiotic Guardians. We need to act now so that future generations will have the benefit of effective antibiotics.”
The University has a track record in ground-breaking interdisciplinary research in demonstrating the uses of antibiotics and preventing the spread of antibiotic resistance.
You can sign up to be an Antibiotic Guardian online. Choose one simple pledge about how you’ll make better use of antibiotics and help save these vital medicines from becoming obsolete.
World Antibiotic Awareness Week runs from 16 to 22 November and European Antibiotic Awareness Day is today (Wednesday 18 November).