KOLKATA: West Bengal health department has decided to act tough on the rampant sale of antibiotic drugs in retail medicine shops in the state without proper prescription from any registered medical practitioner.

A senior official of the state government said the decision on this count has been taken following several reports and findings which point at increasing growth of multiple drug-resistant bacteria in human bodies.

At the same time, the state health department has decided to work closely with the state animal husbandry department to monitor the rampant use of antibiotic substances in agricultural farms, poultries, hatcheries and pisciculture farms.

“Rampant use of antibiotics has become a vicious circle. Once certain drug-resistant bacteria for a certain level of antibiotics are developed in the human body, people are resorting to stronger dosage to antibiotics. This circle is resulting in the growth of multiple drug-resistant bacteria in human bodies. This is happening because a section of the retail chemists and druggists are selling antibiotic drugs without any sort of prescription. We have now decided to act tough in the matter,” a senior health department official said.

The state health department, he added, in coordination with the doctors associations have also decided to start awareness campaigns to make the people aware of the proper use of antibiotics as per doctors’ advice only and also complete the dosage of antibiotics as prescribed by doctors.

“Besides purchasing antibiotic drugs without proper prescription, often people are not completing the required dosage of antibiotics for perfect remedies. Such things add to the complications further and hence what is necessary is creating public awareness on this count. No effort on our side will work unless the people are aware of the ill-effects of rampant and unscientific use of antibiotics,” the state health department official said.