Kenyans who exhibit symptoms of respiratory infections have been advised against over the counter purchase of drugs.
The call by the Health Ministry comes in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases in the country that has been fueled by the Delta variant.
With the rising cases, some Kenyans are resorting to self-medicating instead of seeking medical attention from health facilities, something the Health CS Mutahi Kagwe has termed dangerous as it has led to the loss of lives in the country.
“All healthcare workers are directed to use the recently revised Ministry of Health National Guidelines for the Case Management of suspected/confirmed Covid-19 patients,” Kagwe said.
“Members of the public are strongly advised against self-medicating and use of Over the Counter (OTC) medicines for the treatment of respiratory tract infections but seek medical attention from qualified healthcare workers instead.”
Health experts in the past have advised Kenyans who get infected with Covid-19 or suspect to be infected are urged to avoid taking antibiotics to help fight the infection unless prescribed by a healthcare professional, adding that Covid-19 is a virus and viruses cannot be cured by antibiotics.
Taking antibiotics will instead increase the risk of developing antimicrobial resistance bacteria.
Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of the disease spread, severe illness and even death.
“Since Covid-19 causes respiratory diseases people who are infected or suspect that they have been infected with covid-19 may feel the urge to take antibiotics which is unnecessary treatment in this instance,” WHO Kenya Representative Rudi Eggers said.
Eggers added: “Using antibiotics against the virus which is not susceptible to antibiotic is one of the examples of misuse of antibiotics which can contribute to the risks of bacteria in the person’s body.”
A study conducted in March 2016 revealed that Kenya is already experiencing high levels of antibiotic resistance, including high rates of resistance for respiratory enteric and hospital-acquired infections, indicating that many available antimicrobial regimens such as penicillin and cotrimoxazole are unlikely to be effective.
