Over 600,000 Romanians get antibiotic treatment every day, on average, and Romania is the second largest antibiotics consumer in Europe, after Greece, said on Friday Gabriel Popescu, an advisor to the health minister.

Romania is also among the EU countries with the highest levels of antibiotic resistance, according to a report of the European Centre for Prevention and Control (ECDC).

“There is a direct link between antibiotic use and bacterial resistance. The higher the antibiotics consumption, the greater the level of bacterial resistance to antibiotics,” Popescu explained, reports local Walls-treet.ro.

About 3.3% of Romania’s population gets antibiotic treatment every day. The World Health Organization said that 40-50% of all antibiotics prescriptions are either unjustified or wrong, Popescu added.

Reducing the consumption could lead to lower levels of bacterial resistance to antibiotics.

Health Minister: Three percent of Romanians take antibiotics daily

editor@romania-insider.com