A new study reaffirmed a troubling trend in medicine; Many antibiotics no longer work against dangerous infectious diseases. Overuse and inappropriate use of these drugs have led to more treatment resistant bacteria. Many antibiotics recommended by the World Health Organization now work less than half the time in fighting pediatric illnesses such as pneumonia, bloodstream infections and meningitis. Two of the antibiotics the study highlighted were ceftriaxone and gentamicin. The study revealed that Ceftriaxone was only effective 33% of the time against sepsis or meningitis, while Gentamicin was effective in less than 50% these cases. Another type of antibiotic, aminopenicillins, also demonstrated low effectiveness in treating bloodstream infections. Physicians have called for pharmaceutical companies to develop new antibiotic medications.
Full Story: HealthDay