Mostly it occurs in people above 50 years and below 15 years of age.

NEW-DELHI: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has issued a notice advising medical practitioners to avoid prescribing antibiotics to the growing number of seasonal fever, cough and cold patients. Taking in view the sudden hike in the number of patients with cough, vomiting, sore throat, fever, body aches and Diarrhoea, the IMA said that most of the cases are caused by the H3N2 influenza virus and it is usually lasts for five to seven days.

The Notice said, "Seasonal colds or coughs caused by influenza and other viruses are common during the period October to February." Mostly it occurs in people above 50 years and below 15 years of age. People suffer from respiratory infections with fever, air pollution being one of the precipitating factors.

The Notice further reads, “Give symptomatic therapy and treatment, no need to give antibiotics. But nowadays, people start taking antibiotics like azithromycin and amoxiclav, etc. It needs to be stopped because it acts like antibiotic resistance. The result is that whenever antibiotics are actually used, they won't work because of resistance."

The IMA added that many other antibiotics are being misused for other conditions and patients are becoming resistant to them. In 70 percent of diarrhea cases, doctors prescribe antibiotics, even when they are not needed.

The IMA further names some widely misused antibiotics such as amoxicillin, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, and levofloxacin. The IMA notice also mentions that it is important to determine whether the infection is bacterial or not before giving antibiotics. The medical association further advised people to practice hand and respiratory hygiene, avoid crowded places and get vaccinated to prevent infection.