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Ammon News - The Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) has introduced a series of updated measures aimed at rationalizing the use of antibiotics, enhancing their effectiveness, and combating bacterial resistance. These measures will take effect in early September.

JFDA Director General, Nizar Mheidat, announced that several antibiotics in injectable form, including Ciprofloxacin, Levofloxacin, Tobramycin, and others, have been classified under a high-risk monitoring group. These antibiotics will only be dispensed in hospitals with a prescription from a specialist doctor and through a designated dispensing form.

Mheidat noted that certain antibiotic injections, such as Cefuroxime and Ceftriaxone, are exempt from the hospital-only dispensing requirement. These can be dispensed by community pharmacies, provided they are prescribed by a doctor. The availability of these drugs in pharmacies will be regulated to ensure they do not exceed the allowed quantities.

Additionally, antibiotics like Azithromycin, Cefoxitin, and Clarithromycin have been categorized under a low-risk monitoring group. Community pharmacies are permitted to stock a maximum of 50 injections of these antibiotics.

He said the updated measures also restrict the sale of high-risk antibiotics to direct transactions between agents and hospitals or pharmacies. These steps are part of the JFDA's ongoing efforts to implement the National Action Plan for Antimicrobial Resistance (2023-2025), continuing its work since 2017 and aligning with global efforts to address the limited production of antibiotics in recent years. Petra