WHO ranks antibiotics in bid to counter drug resistance

Geneva

THE World Health Organization (WHO) published a new classification of antibiotics on Tuesday that aims to fight drug resistance, with penicillin-type drugs recommended as the first line of defence and others only for use when absolutely necessary.

The new "essential medicines list" includes 39 antibiotics for 21 common syndromes, categorised into three groups: "Access", "Watch" and "Reserve".