Background: Bacterial resistance is a major public health problem worldwide. One solution\nto this scourge is to sensitize the general public on rational use of antibiotics. Our goal was to assess\npeopleâ??s knowledge and opinions about antibiotic use and bacterial resistance in an urban setting.\nMethod: We performed a cross-sectional study. A convenience sampling was done. A questionnaire\nwas administered to 400 persons during face-to-face interviews. Results: Most respondents thought\nthat antibiotics are effective against colds/flu (69.8%), cough (72.3%) and sore throat (64.4%). At the\nsame time, 42.8% stated that antibiotic therapy can be stopped as soon as the symptoms disappear.\nOnly 8.8% and 41.8% of people knew that handwashing and vaccination prevented bacterial resistance.\nGlobally, 7% of people had a good knowledge. Socio-demographic variables were not associated\nwith the level of knowledge. The main sources of information were entourage and pharmacy\nstaff. Regarding the opinions, 78.3% of surveyed participants the people thought that that people\noveruse antibiotics. Additionally, 28% said that they have no role to play against bacterial resistance.\nConclusion: People living in an urban setting had a low knowledge about antibiotic use and bacterial\nresistance. There is a need to implement awareness campaigns. Further studies on population\npractices toward antibiotic use are necessary.
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