The rising prevalence of antibiotic resistance is leading to an alarming increase in the number of young children dying from conditions such as pneumonia, according to researchers from the University of Sydney.
Their study revealed that many antibiotics are now less than 50 percent effective in treating infections, including pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis in infants and young children, resulting in thousands of unnecessary deaths each year.
In their findings, the researchers pointed out that ceftriaxone, an antibiotic commonly prescribed in Australia, is only effective in one out of three cases of sepsis-related meningitis in newborns. Despite its low efficacy, this antibiotic remains widely used.