Dear Doctor,

European Antibiotic Awareness Day

The threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) did not go away with the COVID-19 pandemic. If anything, the global experience is that it actually aggravated the problem, especially in hospitals and healthcare institutions. Today’s European Antibiotic Awareness Day offers the opportunity to review the local AMR situation.

To this end, the National AMR Committee has published another biennial report which outlines the local status of AMR and antibiotic use in human and animal medicine, using a One Health approach. The report can be accessed from the NAC website at: https://healthservices.gov.mt/en/nac/Documents/National%20Antibiotic%20Committee%202021%20report.pdf. In addition, we are attaching to this circular a brief update on the latest information on antibiotic use in primary/community care.

We encourage all physicians – especially those in primary care and paediatrics – to review their use of antibiotics and ensure that national guidelines are adopted in their practice. Doctors who have not already acquired these guidelines can download the Antibiotic app at: https://healthservices.gov.mt/en/nac/Pages/Information-for-Healthcare-Professionals.aspx. The app contains two sets of guidelines which cover both community and hospital antibiotic prescribing .

A4 booklet 2023

Prof Charmaine Gauci

Superintendent of Public Health

Prof M.A. Borg

Chair: National AMR Committee