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China Consumes Half of the Antibiotics in the World

Xinhua reported on a research study that the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, which is part of Chinese Academy of Science, had recently conducted. The study found that the consumption of antibiotics in China was 162,000 tons (147 million Kilograms) in 2013 which accounted for half of the total usage in the world. Of this total, 52 percent was for animal use and 48 percent was for human use. The study also found that over 50,000 tons (45 million Kilograms) of antibiotics was discharged into soil and water each year. The statistics also revealed that China’s average antibiotics consumption per person was 5 to 8 times higher than in Western countries and that antibiotics were found in close to 60 percent of children’s urine samples. The expert stated that the over usage of antibiotics was driven by two factors. One is that doctors like to prescribe antibiotics in order to seek a speedy recovery for their patients and the other is the higher profit margin of antibiotics which can bring economic benefits to the hospital.

Source: Xinhua, July 6, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2015-07/06/c_127988141.htm