The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that the use of antibiotics is increasing sharply in some countries, noting that urgent action is needed to reduce unnecessary consumption of these drugs.
The FAO report on the control of the consumption of antibiotics examined the use of these substances in 65 countries. The report found that the Netherlands used 9.78 daily doses per 1,000 people, that Britain had twice that figure, and that Turkey had registered about four times at 38.18 per day.
The consumption of antibiotics in Iran is similar to Turkey, while Mongolia has the highest rate among the surveyed countries of 64.41 daily doses per 1,000 people.
Data collection is important to address the issue of antibiotic resistance, which is a worrying trend and makes the bacteria immune to these drugs, the report said.
"The findings of this report confirm the need for urgent action, such as policies that only allow the sale of prescription drugs to reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics," Susan Hill, Director of WHO's Department of Medicines and Health Products, said in a statement.
Burundi recorded the lowest score of 4.44 daily doses per 1,000 people, but the World Health Organization attributed this to the lack of much data.
The small figure may also indicate that consumption is so low that people are at risk of infectious diseases.
Japan's total consumption of antibiotics reached 14.19 daily doses per 1,000 people, nearly half of South Korea's record.
The survey did not include the United States, China and India.
