Pattern of antibiotic usage by adult populations in the city of Benin, Nigeria

Abstract

Antibiotics are drugs prescribed to treat bacterial infections and the call for prudent use of these antibiotics
across the globe has been a general failure and threat to
public health (HLSCST, 1998). The paradigms appear to
be the recent, rapid emergence of several multi-drugresistant bacteria that were under check during the 1940s
(Fleming, 1945). Also the high prevalence of antimicrobial
resistant pathogens in health care is part of the problem
which has complicated patient management and increased patient morbidity and mortality. The drivers for such
resistant organisms include the inappropriate use/misuse
of drugs in our communities (Okeke et al., 1999; Guerin
et al., 2000).