The Macao Paediatric Medicine Association warned on Wednesday that many local parents are not aware of the danger in overusing antibiotics.

In a survey conducted by the association, doctors found 85 per cent of those questioned wrongly assumed that antibiotics are suitable for treating all viral infections.

The head of the association said improper use of antibiotics makes viruses resistant to medication and called on the government to increase efforts to publicize this information.

The survey also revealed 21 per cent of the parents interviewed thought antibiotics were the only cure for their children's fever and nearly 40 per cent of them gave their kids antibiotics for respiratory infections such as the common cold and influenza.

Macao Daily News