NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. doctors are prescribing enough antibiotics to give them to 4 out of 5 Americans every year, an alarming pace that suggests they are being overused, a new government study finds.
Overuse is one reason antibiotics are losing their punch, making infections harder to treat. The report released Wednesday gives the first detailed look at usage of these medicines in every state and finds it highest in the South and Appalachia.
"It sounds high," said Keith Rodvold, a professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
There is no scientific consensus on an appropriate level of antibiotic prescribing. But some experts said the new study's results are disturbing, and that rates are probably excessive even in the states with the lowest antibiotic prescription levels.
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