The <i>WHO AWaRe (Access, Watch, Reserve) antibiotic book</i> and prevention of antimicrobial resistance

Guidance on the appropriate use of antibiotics for common infections is lacking in many settings.The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently released The WHO AWaRe (Access, Watch, Reserve) antibiotic book which complements the WHO Model list of essential medicines and WHO Model list of essential medicines for children.The book gives specific guidance on the empiric use of antibiotics in the model lists with a strong emphasis on the AWaRe framework, which is centred around the risk of antimicrobial resistance development associated with the use of different antibiotics.Recommendations in the book cover 34 common infections in primary and hospital care both for children and adults.The book also includes a…