The Air Rescue Team of FEMERAID International informs all our members, Knights and Dames of the Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta, Federation of the Autonomous Priories (KMFAP) about the followings:

Since the discovery of Penicillin in 1928, it cannot be denied that in the nearly 100 years of its existence this antibiotic has saved millions of lives, it has improved our quality of life and contributed to increasing our life expectancy from 34 years in 1928 to 70 years of age in the most developed countries today.

But everything has a cost, and since its invention antibiotics have been used and abused. In this case, the disorderly use of the different families of antibiotics has led to a growing resistance of harmful microorganisms.

For example, more than 60% of infections with Neisseria Gonorrhea, the cause of a frequent sexually transmitted disease, showed resistance to one of the most commonly used oral antibiotics - Ciprofloxacin. Another example is E.coli infections - the most common pathogen in urinary tract infections - in which more than 20% were resistant to both first-line drugs (Ampicillin and Co-trimoxazole), as well as second-line therapies. (Fluoroquinolones).

It has been estimated that more than 10 million direct deaths will be linked to antibiotic resistance by 2050, equivalent to the global cancer death rate of 2020. The WHO has already called this as a silent pandemic.

This question should now be asked: “Do I really need to take antibiotics this time?” Ask your doctor and help alleviate this serious issue.

Keep safe and healthy!

1st June 2023