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More kids under 10 getting antibiotics

Last year, pharmacies dispensed more antibiotics than the previous year, with a significant rise among children under ten, reports the Danish Health Data Authority. Prescriptions for children aged five to nine increased by 70 percent, and for those aged zero to four, the rise was 34 percent. The spike is likely due to an upsurge in group A streptococcal infections, known for causing sore throat, particularly towards the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023. This rise could be due to increased susceptibility following the COVID-19 lockdowns, as per the State Serum Institute. Professor Hans Jørn Kolmos from SDU suggests an ‘immunity debt’ is being repaid post-lockdowns, with a return to normal exposure to microbes like streptococci. Despite the recent increase, antibiotic use is back to pre-pandemic levels of 2019, without alarming experts, as the uptrend mainly involves narrow-spectrum penicillin, which is less likely to create resistance.