Antibiotic Juice Shortage Puts Children’s Health at Risk in Germany

Health
Medical supplies

In Germany, antibiotics for children are still scarce. The spokesman for the professional association of paediatricians calls for a quick solution to the problem.

2 Min reading time

2023-04-29 05:00:00

According to a medical association, 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 German Press Agency. “This means that the children who actually need an antibiotic sometimes don’t get any at all,” said the Berlin pediatrician. Rural and urban areas are equally affected by the shortage.

On Tuesday (April 25), the Federal Ministry of Health announced a supply shortage of juices for children containing antibiotics in the Federal Gazette. 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.

Supply is also becoming scarce in hospitals

“The situation for the parents is precarious, for the children anyway,” said Maske. Even children who “really urgently” need antibiotics are not given any. “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. “The concern is huge.” In his practice in Berlin Schöneberg, around 30 children are prescribed antibiotics every day – with around 100 to 150 patients, according to Maske.

Mask: “Resolve problems as soon as possible”

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.

The pediatrician has never seen a shortage of antibiotics of this magnitude in Germany. 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 will actually die or there will be serious complications that we have never seen before.”

dpa