•November 15, 2017•

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is recognizing U.S. Antibiotic Awareness to help decrease the misuse of antibiotics and protect people from the dangers of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Antibiotics do not cure viral infections such as colds, flu, most sore throats, most coughs and bronchitis, many sinus infections, and many ear infections.

“Antibiotics are crucial in treating many diseases. However, when antibiotics are used incorrectly or unnecessarily, which happens more than 50 percent of the time according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bacteria become resistant to antibiotics,” said IDPH Director Nirav D. Shah, M.D., J.D. “As bacteria become more resistant to antibiotics, those bacterial illnesses will be more difficult to treat or untreatable.”     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.