About | Antibiotic-Use | CDC

About | Antibiotic-Use | CDC

Be Antibiotics Aware (formerly Get Smart about Antibiotics)  is a national effort to help fight antibiotic resistance and improve antibiotic prescribing and use.

Antibiotics save lives but any time antibiotics are used, they can cause side effects and lead to antibiotic resistance. At least 80 million antibiotic prescriptions each year are unnecessary, which makes improving antibiotic prescribing and use a national priority.

• ANTIBIOTIC PRESCRIBING AND USE IN DOCTOR’S OFFICES

  Many antibiotics prescribed in doctors’ offices, clinics, and other outpatient settings are not needed. CDC focuses on appropriate prescribing and use for common illnesses in children and adults.
• ANTIBIOTIC PRESCRIBING AND USE IN HOSPITALS AND LONG-TERM CARE

  Many patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities receive antibiotics to fight infections, but these drugs are often prescribed incorrectly. CDC helps clinicians prescribe the right drug for the right patient at the right dose and time.
• ANTIBIOTIC PRESCRIBING AND USE ON THE FARM

  CDC promotes appropriate use of antibiotics in animals, serves as a liaison among the public health community, veterinarians, and food animal producers, and builds relationships with the animal agriculture industry within the United States.
• U.S. ANTIBIOTIC AWARENESS WEEK

  An annual observance to raise awareness of the threat of antibiotic resistance and the importance of appropriate antibiotic prescribing and use...