The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned about the abuse of antibiotics. Experts believe that if this trend continues, even an ordinary infection can be fatal.

Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General, said: "In fact, the post-antibiotic era means the end of modern medicine as we know it. Things like stinging pharyngitis or knee scratches in children can be fatal again. ”

Humans are becoming resistant to first-line antibiotics. Continuous overuse can gradually make every antibiotic ineffective. Pharmaceutical companies will also have no intention to produce new antibiotics. They do not want to invest funds to develop better antimicrobials, because overuse will make them fail a few years later.

Alternative therapies are more expensive, more toxic, and require longer duration of treatment and may require treatment in the intensive care unit. According to Margaret Chan, “There is almost nothing to be done about new alternative antibiotics.”

Under such circumstances, complicated operations such as routine surgery such as hip replacement surgery or organ transplantation may not be carried out because of the risk. Nursing premature babies can also become difficult.

Dr. Margaret Chan called on doctors to prescribe antibiotics only when absolutely necessary, and urged the authorities to resist the use of antibiotics in food production. This will help solve the growing problem of antibiotic resistance (AMR).