Amid rising H3N2 virus cases, IMA asks medical practitioners to avoid using antibiotics for cough or cold

New Delhi: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) standing committee issued a notice on Friday that medical practitioners need to stop prescribing antibiotics for fever, cough, and cold.

“The infection usually lasts for about five to seven days. The fever goes away at the end of three days, but the cough can persist for up to three weeks. Most of the cases are from H3N2 influenza virus,” as per the information from NCDC.

The notice explains that having a common cold or cough in this season is quite normal. “It is common to have seasonal cold or cough during October to February, because of influenza and other viruses. Mostly it occurs in people above the age of 50 and below 15 years. People develop upper respiratory infections along with fever. Air pollution is one of the precipitating factors.”

“Give only symptomatic treatment, no need to give antibiotics,” the IMA pointed out to the medical practitioners.

IMA also warned that people should not start taking antibiotics without having prior knowledge of dosage and frequency. “People start taking antibiotics like Azithromycin and Amoxiclav etc, that too without caring for dose and frequency and stop it once they start feeling better. This needs to be stopped as it leads to antimicrobial resistance. Whenever there will be a real use of antibiotics, they will not work due to the resistance.”

Antimicrobial resistance happens when germs no longer respond to the drugs that are designed to kill them. That means the germs will continue to grow.

The notice further named some of the most misused antibiotics such as amoxicillin, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, and levofloxacin. These are being used for diarrhoea and for UTI.

“We have already seen widespread use of Azithromycin and Ivermectin during COVID and this too has led to resistance,” it added.

IMA further added that it is necessary to diagnose whether the infection is bacterial or not before prescribing antibiotics, and then later understand what needs to be done. “Self-control and regulation need to be practised by all stakeholders. For prevention of infection, avoid crowded places, practice good hand and respiratory hygiene, and take the vaccination.”