Pharmacists speak of a catastrophic situation: antibiotics for children are scarce in Germany. This is already having consequences for the treatment of patients – and there is no end in sight to the shortage.
According to medical associations, some sick children in Germany cannot currently be adequately supplied with antibiotic juices. The situation is very worrying, said Jakob Maske, spokesman for the Professional Association of Pediatricians (BVKJ), the dpa news agency.
“The situation for the parents is precarious, for the children anyway,” said Maske. Even children who “really urgently” need antibiotics don’t get them. “You can imagine that it’s not so good for your health and that your life is also in danger.” Many children, for example with pneumonia, a severe ear infection or a streptococcal infection, are dependent on antibiotics every day. Rural and urban areas are equally affected by the shortage.
“The concern is huge”
The Federal Ministry of Health announced a supply shortage of antibiotic-containing juices for children in the Federal Gazette on Tuesday. The announcement will enable state authorities to react more flexibly to supply bottlenecks. This mechanism can be put into effect because a kind of early warning system has been set up at the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices.
“The concern is huge,” said Maske. In his practice in Berlin-Schoeneberg, around 30 children are prescribed antibiotics every day – with around 100 to 150 patients. What is done when the right drug is gone? According to Maske, there are second- and third-line antibiotics, but they are less effective and increase the risk of antibiotic resistance developing.
“The consequence, if we can no longer treat the children but have to treat them, is to admit them to the hospital.” In the clinics, the supply of intravenous antibiotics is still relatively good, but even there it is currently sometimes the case that certain drugs are no longer in stock.
End of defect not foreseeable
According to the Berlin Chamber, there is no end to the shortage in sight. Peter Stahl, Chamber President in Rhineland-Palatinate, said the “image”: “It feels like every second prescription is now a problem.” Chamber boss Carsten Wohlfeil (Saarland) reported that many patients had to travel long distances to find a pharmacy with the necessary medicine.
However, a spokesman for the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, which reports to the Ministry of Health, emphasized that there are first signs of a stabilization in the availability of antibiotics at European level.
criticism from the CDU
According to Maske, there are currently no noticeably more cases of illness than usual. He calls on the Federal Ministry of Health to solve the problems with the procurement of medicines as quickly as possible. It must not happen that the care in the hospitals is also endangered. “Otherwise children actually die or there are serious complications that we have never seen before.”
At the political level, criticism comes from the opposition. “Now the years of pressure to save on medicines are taking their revenge, but above all the waiting for Health Minister Lauterbach to come,” says CDU health expert Tino Sorge. The SPD minister could have introduced an early warning system for delivery bottlenecks long ago. “It is high time that Minister Lauterbach resolutely tackled the shortage of medicines,” said Sorge.