Parents urged to reduce antibiotic resistance

Parents are being urged by England's top doctor to keep surfaces clean and make sure children's hands are washed in a bid to drive down illness and resistance to antibiotics.

In an “urgent video appeal” from Public Health England, England’s chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies said parents should do all they can to help preserve the “precious” drugs.

Parents are also being told not to ask their GPs for antibiotics for conditions such as coughs and colds.

Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria adapt and find ways to survive the effects of the medicine.

Public Health England said estimates for the EU showed there are 400,000 cases of reported antibiotic-resistant infections each year, with 25,000 deaths.

Dame Sally is joined by Dr Hilary Jones, Dr Rosemary Leonard, Dr Sarah Jarvis, Dr Ellie Cannon and Dr Carol Cooper to spread the message about antibiotic resistance.

Tips for parents include keeping surfaces clean, washing hands regularly, carrying tissues for coughs and sneezes and then binning them, seeking advice from a pharmacist when coughs and colds strike, and heating the home to least 18C if possible.