Antibiotic use in the Australian community, 1990‐1995

Abstract

Antibiotic use in Australia is high, as in many other developed countries, but did not increase between 1990 and 1995. The overall profile of antibiotic use in Australia by drug class was similar to that in the United Kingdom. Antibiotics were still commonly prescribed for upper respiratory tract infection (which is usually viral), more commonly by rural than by urban general practitioners.