They are the go-to palliative for hundreds of millions of people around the world when migraine strikes, when the aches and pains of a cold or flu kick in, and to relieve post-surgery soreness.
But the misuse and overuse of paracetamol and painkillers such as ibuprofen is contributing to a potentially epidemic-causing crisis in medicine: the rise of bacteria and related diseases that are resistant to antibiotics.
In a paper published in the journal Nature Antimicrobials And Resistance, scientists at the University of South Australia said they have found that paracetamol and ibuprofen are “amplifying” antimicrobial resistance, which they described as “a global threat to public health”.
The researchers said their paper “provides evidence that medication used in pain relief, such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen, when combined with (the antibiotic) ciprofloxacin, not only significantly increases mutation frequency, but also confer multiple antibiotic resistance”.
The authors are warning patients and doctors to “carefully consider the risks of using multiple medications”, especially when prescribed for long-term treatments.
Alarmingly, the team said that when paracetamol or ibuprofen are taken by patients who are treating bacterial infections such as Escherichia coli with the widely-used antibiotic ciprofloxacin, they seem to trigger mutations that help the germs become “highly resistant” to the antibiotic.
The discovery has “serious health implications”, the researchers warned, with older people in care homes said to be particularly at risk given that they are likely to be taking “multiple medications”.
“Antibiotics have long been vital in treating infectious diseases, but their widespread overuse and misuse have driven a global rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria,” said lead researcher Assoc Prof Rietie Venter.
“Antibiotic resistance isn’t just about antibiotics any more,” she warned. – dpa
