This is Get Smart About Antibiotics Week in Illinois.  Antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed drugs.  However, up to 50 percent of all antibiotics prescribed are not needed or are not effective as prescribed.  The Illinois Department of Public Health is leading the Illinois Precious Drugs & Scary Bugs campaign to promote the appropriate use of antibiotics.  The goals are to increase health care provider and patient knowledge about the harms of inappropriate antibiotic use and support clinicians in improving antibiotic prescribing, particularly for acute respiratory infections.  “Not only are antibiotic resistant bacterial infections becoming more common, many bacteria are becoming resistant to more than one type of antibiotic,” said IDPH Director Nirav D. Shah.  Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in a way that reduces or eliminates the effectiveness of antibiotics. Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing drives the evolution of bacteria resistant to antibiotics and undermines the ability to treat common infectious diseases.  Each year in the United States, at least two million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 die as a direct result of these infections.  Many more people die from other conditions that are complicated by an antibiotic-resistant infection.  So, what you can do?  Ask your health care provider if there are other steps you can take to feel better without using an antibiotic.  Take the antibiotic exactly as your health care provider prescribes.  Never skip doses or stop taking an antibiotic early unless your health care provider tells you to do so.  Only take antibiotics prescribed for you; do not share or use leftover antibiotics.  Do not take antibiotics prescribed for someone else.  Antibiotics have side effects. When your health care provider says you don’t need an antibiotic, taking one may do more harm than good.  Antibiotics will not help you feel better if you have a viral infection like a cold or the flu.  Information about the Precious Drugs & Scary Bugs campaign can be found on the IDPH website, www.dph.illinois.gov.