TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Department of Health (DOH) joins the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in recognizing October 6-10 as National “Get Smart About Antibiotics Week”. This one-week campaign gives Florida the opportunity to promote proper antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance prevention, including the use of hand washing to prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses.

The CDC defines antibiotic resistance as “the ability of bacteria or other microbes to resist the effects of an antibiotic.” Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in a way that reduces or eliminates the effectiveness of drugs, chemicals or other agents designed to cure or prevent infections.

In general, upper respiratory infections account for three quarters of all antibiotics prescribed by office-based physicians. Very large numbers of these infections are treated every year with antibiotics whether or not they are caused by bacterial infections, increasing the resistance to antibiotics. Diseases caused by viruses are not effectively treated with antibiotics.

Increasing rates of resistance and inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics have become more common. However, according to the 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, 50.6 percent of people surveyed have not heard about antibiotic resistance. “Get Smart About Antibiotics Week” provides parents, caregivers and health care providers with educational materials describing the difference between bacterial and viral infections and the increasing number of antibiotic resistant diseases.

CDC’s “Get Smart” materials will be distributed to Florida schools and county health departments to raise awareness of the misuse of antibiotics for viral infections and the emergence of antibiotic resistant diseases.

DOH promotes, protects and improves the health of all people in Florida. To learn more about antibiotic resistance, visit www.doh.state.fl.us/disease_ctrl/epi/FGS/FL_GetSmart.html or www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/community.