Antibiotics saved my life

Interviews with Anna Fairley and Iris Fairley

Anna Fairley’s experience with antibiotics

“At the time, May 2009, I was finishing my internship at the WHO Regional Office for Europe in Copenhagen. It was an ordinary Tuesday afternoon, but I began feeling unwell so I went home. Once home, I rapidly became increasingly ill, and was taken to Hvidøvre Hospital near Copenhagen, with suspected appendicitis. They operated, but I did not get better – in fact my condition got much worse.”

“I cannot remember anything from when I was anaesthetized for my operation, but I understand that I was put into a medically induced coma, placed in isolation and under constant supervision by two nurses with a suspected antibiotic-resistant infection. I remained in a coma for six days, and three days in they did not expect me to recover.”

“I had a bacterial infection of Group A Streptococcus, and fortunately, it proved not to be resistant, and two of the antibiotics I was given began to work. My recovery was very quick, just a couple of weeks, and the infection has left no lasting effects.”

How precious antibiotics are

“My experience has made me realize how precious antibiotics are. I received the best possible care in a Danish hospital and still was extremely lucky to have recovered. I think bacteria need to be studied much more, and greater awareness needs to be made about the importance of using antibiotics effectively as well as good hygiene. In fact, I have made this issue the focus of my master thesis.”

“Ultimately we know so little – I never even discovered where the infection I got came from.”

About Anna Fairley

Anna Fairley, from Darmstadt, Germany, is currently writing her master thesis at Maastricht University on “The weapons of a microbial killer – correlation between Group A Streptococcus toxins and invasive disease outcome”.

Iris Fairley: Antibiotics are a treasure to us. They saved my daughter’s life

“When Anna fell sick with bacterial sepsis, I was called immediately to Copenhagen. It was a shock to me. Anna’s condition was extremely serious and it got worse and worse by the minute. I felt like I was in a nightmare for the first six to seven hours after she had been induced into the coma. I was really afraid that Anna could have suffered from an infection caused by a resistant type of bacteria. I knew that, if that were the case, it would have been her death sentence.”

“Susceptibility testing was done immediately in the hospital, and it actually showed that Anna could be treated with standard antibiotic drugs. Yet it took 48 hours until the antibiotics showed an effect and Anna started to slowly recover. What a relief that antibiotics could help her!”

Best-practice infection control in Copenhagen

“I really have to say that I was impressed by the excellent infection control practice that I observed in the hospital: as Anna was treated in the intensive-care unit, she was isolated from the beginning of her hospital stay; I was also told that it is general hospital policy to isolate international patients. Since antibiotic resistance is very often much less frequent in Denmark than in other countries, the hospitals in Denmark want to make sure that resistant bacterial pathogens do not spread. I also observed that disinfection was done very carefully and responsibly. Antiseptic fluids were available in every hospital room, and health personnel disinfected carefully every time when entering or leaving.”

Patients should take antibiotics responsibly and follow the prescribed treatment

“Resistant bacteria are a huge problem. They are difficult to treat and mutate over time to become even more resistant. During my work as a medical assistant, I sometimes see that patients deal with antibiotics carelessly. Many interrupt their treatment because they feel better soon after taking the first antibiotic drugs. The real problem is that the drugs cannot possibly have killed the bacteria in such a short time. But if bacteria are not eliminated entirely, they could mutate so that they will be resistant to the same antibiotic in the future. It happens very often that the same patients fall sick again after a very short time.”

“I have the impression that we all take antibiotics too early – without confirmation that it really is a bacterial infection that causes the sickness. We need to raise awareness so that people take antibiotics responsibly. Doctors have a duty to emphasize to their patients that a course of antibiotic treatment must be finished. The patient has to understand and act accordingly. Maybe clear recommendations should be included in package inserts of antibiotic drugs.”

Everyone can contribute to stop the spread of antibiotic resistance

“In my private environment of family and friends, I make sure that everyone who has been prescribed antibiotics follows the intended treatment. We need to be absolutely aware of the fact that antibiotic resistance has developed over the years. Everyone contributes to the further emergence of antibiotic resistance. But everyone can also contribute to make sure it does not spread further.”

About Iris Fairley

Iris Fairley is Anna’s mother. She works as a medical assistant in a doctor’s practice in Germany.