Children are put on drip in the crowded transfusion room of the pediatrics department at the Huangshi Central Hospital in Hubei province in June, 2012. [Photo/ China Daily]

The average individual consumption of antibiotics in China is more than five times that in developed countries. To curb the abuse of antibiotics in China, the government should make it more expensive and difficult for the people to obtain antibiotics, Beijing News said on Sunday.

In 2013, China consumed 162,000 tons of antibiotics, 48 percent of which was used by humans, the rest by livestock. Chinese people consume about 138 grams of antibiotics per person every year on average, nearly 10 times that of people in the United States. Not including the residue of livestock antibiotics in food, which is hard to measure.

The outcome of this is bacteria are developing greater resistance to antibiotics. The public health authority must strengthen supervision and administration of the grassroots clinics in villages. Statistics show the abuse of antibiotics in grassroots clinics is most worrisome.

In 2011, China started a three-year campaign to curb the abuse of antibiotics. But that is far from enough, because what the country needs is a long-term mechanism to prevent the overuse of antibiotics and raise public awareness about their use.

If the overuse of antibiotics continues it will cause a public health crisis in China in the long run.

Different levels of doctors should have different authority when it comes to the prescription of antibiotics.

Doctors, pharmacies and patients are all responsible to prevent antibiotics abuse. In the US, the doctors and drugstores involved in antibiotic overuse cases will receive severe punishments. Controlling the circulation of antibiotics has proved an effective way to curb their overuse in many developed countries. China should consider doing the same as soon as possible.

(China Daily 03/14/2016 page8)