India Overuses 'Watch' Antibiotics, Underuses 'Reserve' Drugs

A big study in The Lancet found that India is using too many 'watch' antibiotics, which are strong medicines that should only be used for specific infections.

This means some people might be taking these strong medicines when they don't need to, while others might not be getting the right medicines for their infections.

The study also found that India is not using enough 'access' antibiotics, which are the first-choice medicines for common infections, and 'reserve' antibiotics, which are the last-resort medicines for very tough infections.

This is a problem because it can make it harder to treat infections in the future.

The study looked at antibiotic use in 186 countries and found that most countries are using too many antibiotics overall, especially the ones that can cause resistance.

This means we need to be more careful about how we use antibiotics to make sure they work when we really need them.