Background
Until now, doctors knew that prescribing antibiotics wisely was, in theory, the right thing to do; but they often did not have clear idea about how to go about it in their day-to-day practices. Families and child-care centres also have needed a clearer understanding about wise antibiotic prescribing.

Antibiotic Safety Zone
Dr. Ross Pennie, a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist at McMaster University Medical Centre, has devised what he calls the Antibiotic Safety Zone. He got the idea after thinking about nuclear-free zones in cities such as Vancouver. The Antibiotic Safety Zone is a promise to use antibiotics according to a simple set of principles aimed at decreasing unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions for acute respiratory tract infections in adults and children (coughs, colds, sore throats, ear infections, and acute bronchitis). The principles (rules for participation) are clearly defined in poster format and serve as a practical guide for participating physicians, clinics, patients, families and child-care centres.

Ground Zero of the Antibiotic Safety Zone is the clinic or office of every physician who decides to participate by declaring the office an Antibiotic Safety Zone and by following the "rules." The recognisable logo and antibiotic safety principles are prominently displayed on a poster for everyone to see. There are also handouts for families and for child-care centres also wishing to pledge to use antibiotics wisely and become Antibiotic Safety Zones. With time, Dr. Pennie hopes that the logo and its associated message will become familiar to the public. Antibiotics will be used wisely only when doctors, patients, families and child-care centres all agree to do so, and how to go about it.

The tools for embracing the Antibiotic Safety Zone are three posters or handouts that can be printed or downloaded from the following Web site:

PENNIE, Ross, M.D., F.R.C.P.C.
Professor
Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine
Department of Pediatrics

• Posters for Medical Offices (Adobe Acrobat Document)
• Posters for Child-care Centres (Adobe Acrobat Document)
• Handouts for Households. (Adobe Acrobat Document)

Please feel free to print, display, and distribute these materials for educational purposes. The more people who take the message to heart, the better.