Shortage of Children antibiotic worrisome in Germany

Emmanuel Thomas, DPA, Friday, May 5, 2023

 

BERLIN – Difficulties in procuring antibiotics, particularly for children, are a “wake-up call,” Gerald Gaß, the head of Germany’s DKG hospitals association, told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) news agency on Friday.

The effort required from hospitals to procure certain medications had become “excessive,” Gaß said. He noted that certain paediatricians were admitting children to hospitals on the grounds that outpatient treatment with antibiotics was problematic.

Hospitals are currently able to overcome shortages by putting in additional work, but over the longer term this will no longer be possible, he said.

German pharmacies are having difficulty sourcing antibiotic syrups for children, with Thomas Preis, head of a regional association of pharmacists calling on Wednesday for a national reserve of antibiotics to be set up.

Certain German states have already eased rules on antibiotics for children to allow the import of syrups from abroad. This allows strict rules under the medication legislation to be loosened temporarily.

A Health Ministry spokesman pointed to pending legislation that would require certain medications to be held in reserve to ensure stocks over several months. The legislation has yet to be passed by the federal parliament.