The Alagoas Regional Pharmacy Council (CRF/AL), in partnership with the Federal Pharmacy Council, launched, this Sunday (5), the Rational Use of Medicines campaign, with the theme of the resistance of microorganisms to antimicrobials. In Alagoas alone, 470,987 units of medication were consumed from March 2019 to February 2024.
The council’s warning comes due to the indiscriminate use of medicines, leading to the deaths of 4.95 million people worldwide, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO)
The data shows that, in the Northeast of Brazil, 7,529,814 units of medicines were consumed between March 2019 and February 2024. This influence became even clearer when the growth in sales of the antibiotic azithromycin was analyzed, which was part of the so-called “kit covid”, along with hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, dexamethasone and vitamins C and D.
According to the president of CRF/AL, Daniel Fortes, the indiscriminate consumption of antimicrobials represents a serious threat to the prevention and treatment of various infections caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites.
“This is a case of public health, bringing awareness to society is essential so that we can reduce the number of bacterial resistance that end up affecting the treatment of these patients”, he explained.
The president also pointed out that this warning becomes even more worrying if one considers the epidemiological estimates that predict a tendency for an increase in the number of victims due to resistant bacterial infections: it is estimated that, in 2050, 10 million patients will be affected, exceeding the deaths estimated for cancer (8.2 million) and diabetes (1.5 million).
In Brazil, where around 90% of people self-medicate (Pesquisa ICTQ/Datafolha, 2024), data gathered by the Federal Pharmacy Council (CFF), in partnership with IQVIA, shows that the situation may have worsened due to the pandemic of Covid-19.
Pharmaceutical retail has experienced a sustained increase in antimicrobial sales during the pandemic. The peak of 228.3 million units sold was reached in 2022 (38.53% increase compared to the previous year).
*with information from consultancy.
