Clinical update – hand washing

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence have provided new guidance to understand and monitor the overuse and misuse of antimicrobial medicines.

Essential facts

Antimicrobial resistance develops when the medicines are used inappropriately. Global estimates suggest that every year more than 700,000 people die from drug-resistant strains of common bacterial and viral infections, such as the human immunodeficiency virus, tuberculosis and malaria. If antimicrobial resistance continues to increase, this number could rise to ten million a year by 2050.

What’s new

Simple steps such as teaching all children to wash their hands and to manage common infections themselves could help reduce the use of antibiotics, according to new guidance.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendations aim to educate the