Apropos the news report, “Arbitrary sale of antibiotics under scanner” (January 17), from a life-saving pill the antibiotic has turned into a life-threatening one. Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, expressed concern during his 1945 Nobel Prize lecture that a time would come when it might be bought by anyone and due to ignorance the person ingesting it might become drug-resistant.
The present situation is a reflection of Fleming’s concern. In India, nearly 700,000 people die annually due to drug resistance; the figure is expected to rise manifold by 2050.
Strict norms are in place for sale of antibiotics, but implementation is lax.
