Should I stock up on antibiotics?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the New York City Health Department and the Westchester County Health Department, are advising people NOT to try to stock up on antibiotics.  Here are some good reasons:

 1)     There is no evidence that biological agents have been released in New York City or the surrounding region.  This is based on active monitoring of hospital emergency rooms, lab tests taken from the affected area in New York City and from other sites in the city.

 2)      Hospitals, community physicians, and health departments nationwide are all on the lookout for any signs of a bioterrorist action.  If this unlikely event were to occur, the information would be made public immediately and the plans to respond to the event would be activated.

 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed a large national stockpile of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics that are effective against the most likely bacterial bioterrorist  agents.  This stockpile would be rapidly delivered in the event of a bioterrorist attack.  As a precautionary measure, this stockpile was requested soon after the World Trade Center disaster, and arrived in New York City within hours of the City’s request.

 3)      The likelihood of a large-scale bioterrorist event is currently thought to be low, given the high level of technical sophistication required to develop and disperse a biologic weapon in the particle size necessary to infect massive numbers of persons.

 4)      Taking antibiotics as a preventive measure is risky.  Routine, unnecessary use of antibiotics can cause common bacteria, such as those that can cause ear infections or pneumonia, to become resistant to antibiotics.  Then, when you need the antibiotics for a real bacterial infection, the antibiotics won’t work.  Allergies and cross-reactions between antibiotics and other medications can also occur.

 Given the risks associated with unnecessary antibiotic use and because medications from the national stockpile would be rapidly available for treatment of exposed persons following a confirmed bioterrorist event, health officials strongly recommends that people not ask their physicians for prescriptions for antibiotics or try to stockpile them.