Antibiotic Culture: A History of Antibiotic Use in the Second Half of the 20th and Early 21st Century in the People’s Republic of China
Antimicrobial resistance is now widely regarded as a global public health threat. A growing number of studies suggest that antibiotic resistance is higher in China than in most western countries. Despite the current official regulation prohibiting pharmacies from the unrestricted selling of antibiot...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Antibiotics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/12/3/510 |
| _version_ | 1797613842319015936 |
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| author | Xun Zhou |
| author_facet | Xun Zhou |
| author_sort | Xun Zhou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Antimicrobial resistance is now widely regarded as a global public health threat. A growing number of studies suggest that antibiotic resistance is higher in China than in most western countries. Despite the current official regulation prohibiting pharmacies from the unrestricted selling of antibiotics, there is little sign of declining consumer demand. China now ranks as the second largest consumer of antibiotics in the world, after India. Drawing on published historical data, unpublished archival documents, and recently collected oral interviews, this paper provides a historical overview of antibiotic use and abuse in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from the second half of the 20th century to the present. It demonstrates how the political demand for health improvement, along with the state-sponsored popularization of allopathic medicine, on the one hand, and the lack of access to adequate medical care for the majority of the population, as well as the existing culture of self-medication, on the other hand, are working in tandem to create antibiotic dependency in China. In addition, the privatization and marketization of biomedicine and health care in post-Mao China have helped to build a new and ever-thriving network of production, distribution, and marketing of antibiotics, which has often proven difficult for the authorities to monitor. At the same time, increased purchasing power and easier accessibility created by this new network of production, distribution, and marketing have further contributed to the prevalence of antibiotic overuse in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:01:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-42ad6f2c910a49509576860c1317b530 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-6382 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:01:20Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Antibiotics |
| spelling | doaj.art-42ad6f2c910a49509576860c1317b5302023-11-17T09:14:00ZengMDPI AGAntibiotics2079-63822023-03-0112351010.3390/antibiotics12030510Antibiotic Culture: A History of Antibiotic Use in the Second Half of the 20th and Early 21st Century in the People’s Republic of ChinaXun Zhou0History Department, University of Essex, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UKAntimicrobial resistance is now widely regarded as a global public health threat. A growing number of studies suggest that antibiotic resistance is higher in China than in most western countries. Despite the current official regulation prohibiting pharmacies from the unrestricted selling of antibiotics, there is little sign of declining consumer demand. China now ranks as the second largest consumer of antibiotics in the world, after India. Drawing on published historical data, unpublished archival documents, and recently collected oral interviews, this paper provides a historical overview of antibiotic use and abuse in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from the second half of the 20th century to the present. It demonstrates how the political demand for health improvement, along with the state-sponsored popularization of allopathic medicine, on the one hand, and the lack of access to adequate medical care for the majority of the population, as well as the existing culture of self-medication, on the other hand, are working in tandem to create antibiotic dependency in China. In addition, the privatization and marketization of biomedicine and health care in post-Mao China have helped to build a new and ever-thriving network of production, distribution, and marketing of antibiotics, which has often proven difficult for the authorities to monitor. At the same time, increased purchasing power and easier accessibility created by this new network of production, distribution, and marketing have further contributed to the prevalence of antibiotic overuse in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/12/3/510history of antibiotic developmentculture of drug consumptionself-medicationpolitics of healthantibiotic overusemarketization of health |
| spellingShingle | Xun Zhou Antibiotic Culture: A History of Antibiotic Use in the Second Half of the 20th and Early 21st Century in the People’s Republic of China Antibiotics history of antibiotic development culture of drug consumption self-medication politics of health antibiotic overuse marketization of health |
| title | Antibiotic Culture: A History of Antibiotic Use in the Second Half of the 20th and Early 21st Century in the People’s Republic of China |
| title_full | Antibiotic Culture: A History of Antibiotic Use in the Second Half of the 20th and Early 21st Century in the People’s Republic of China |
| title_fullStr | Antibiotic Culture: A History of Antibiotic Use in the Second Half of the 20th and Early 21st Century in the People’s Republic of China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Antibiotic Culture: A History of Antibiotic Use in the Second Half of the 20th and Early 21st Century in the People’s Republic of China |
| title_short | Antibiotic Culture: A History of Antibiotic Use in the Second Half of the 20th and Early 21st Century in the People’s Republic of China |
| title_sort | antibiotic culture a history of antibiotic use in the second half of the 20th and early 21st century in the people s republic of china |
| topic | history of antibiotic development culture of drug consumption self-medication politics of health antibiotic overuse marketization of health |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/12/3/510 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xunzhou antibioticcultureahistoryofantibioticuseinthesecondhalfofthe20thandearly21stcenturyinthepeoplesrepublicofchina |