Strep A antibiotic prices increase to ‘£19 a box’ as cases in children soar across the UK

He said: “Last week, Health Minister Lord Markham stated in the House of Lords, ‘We have given instructions to doctors that, where necessary, they should be proactively prescribing penicillin [an antibiotic] as the best line of defence’.

“However laudable the Minister’s intentions, using antibiotics such as penicillin as a prophylactic – that is, as a precautionary measure rather than to treat a diagnosed case – is mistaken.

“It’s effectively a nuclear option, a decision of final resort. Taking antibiotics too often can change bacteria so much that the antibiotics stop working against them.

“This is called bacterial resistance or antibiotic resistance. Some bacteria are now resistant to even the most powerful antibiotics available.”

Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1709730/strep-a-cases-antibiotic-prices-soar-uk-watchdog-CMA