Introduction Group 3 Antibiotic misuse refers to overuse or unnecessary use of antibiotics whether by patients or healthcare professionals. It is one of the major contributing factors to antimicrobial resistance, which occurs when bacteria develop the ability to resist antimicrobials. (1) Antibiotics are important medications. It would be difficult to overstate the benefits of penicillin and other antibiotics in treating bacterial infections, preventing the spread of disease and reducing serious complications of disease. But some medications that used to be standard treatments for bacterial infections are now less effective or don't work at all. When an antibiotic no longer has an effect on a certain strain of bacteria, those bacteria are said to be antibiotic resistant. Antibiotic resistance is one of the world's most pressing health problems. (2) The overuse and misuse of antibiotics are key factors contributing to antibiotic resistance. Moreover it can develop resistance to multiple antibiotics and cause life-threatening infections. The general public, doctors and hospitals all play a role in ensuring proper use of the medications and minimizing the development of antibiotic resistance.(2) The overuse of antibiotics especially taking antibiotics even when they're not the appropriate treatment promotes antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics treat bacterial infections but not viral infections. If you take an antibiotic when you actually have a viral infection, the antibiotic attacks bacteria in your body — bacteria that are either beneficial or at least not causing disease. This misdirected treatment can then promote antibiotic-resistant properties in harmless bacteria that can be shared with other bacteria, or create an opportunity for potentially harmful bacteria to replace the harmless ones. Moreover, there are various personal factors such as self-medication and lack of knowledge of not differentiating viral from bacterial infections. (3) Overuse of Antibiotics Increase Fatal Diarrhea Cases in Children, antibiotics Can Upset Sensitive Gut Flora, Antibiotics convert Good Bacteria to Bad Bacteria, It Increases Cases of Untreatable Gonorrhea as well as Taking antibiotics too often or for the wrong reasons can change bacteria so much that antibiotics don't work against them. This is called bacterial resistance or antibiotic resistance. Some bacteria are now resistant to even the most powerful antibiotics available.(4) Antibiotic resistance is accelerated by the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, as well as poor infection prevention and control. Steps can be taken at all levels of society to reduce the impact and limit the spread of resistance. Individuals can only use antibiotics when prescribed by a certified health professional. Never demand antibiotics if your health worker says you don’t need them. Always follow your health worker’s advice when using antibiotics. There is a greater for job for health professionals to reduce antibiotic resistance by only prescribe and dispense antibiotics when they are needed, according to current guidelines and by raising public awareness about by talking to your patients about how to take antibiotics correctly, antibiotic resistance and the dangers of misuse. Healthcare industry should Invest in research and development of new antibiotics, vaccines, diagnostics and other tools. (5) References 1) Abdelaziz, A., Tawfik, A., Rabie, K., Omran, M., Hussein, M., Abou-Ali, A. and Ahmed, A., 2019. Quality of Community Pharmacy Practice in Antibiotic Self-Medication Encounters: A Simulated Patient Study in Upper Egypt. Antibiotics, 8(2), p.35. 2) Mayo clinic. "Antibiotics *: Are you misusing them?. Retrieved 5 march 2021 Available from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthylifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/antibiotics/art-20045720 3) krans b. What Every Parent Should Know About Antibiotics and Superbugs [Internet]. Healthline. 2022 [cited 6 March 2022]. Available from: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/policydrug-resistant-superbugs-warrant-reduced-antibiotic-use-030713 4) M. coronan k. The Danger of Antibiotic Overuse (for Parents) Nemours KidsHealth [Internet]. Kidshealth.org. 2022 [cited 6 March 2022]. Available from: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/antibioticoveruse.html#:~:text=Some%20germs%20that%20were%20once, %2C%20skin%20infections%2C%20and%20tuberculosis 5) Antibiotic resistance [Internet]. Who.int. 2022 [cited 6 March 2022]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/factsheets/detail/antibiotic-resistance