Hyderabad: To stop antibiotic misuse, the Drug Control Authority on Wednesday carried out a statewide drive against the sale of antibiotics without a doctor’s prescription.
During surprise checks, officials visited medical shops across Telangana. As a result, they found rule violations in 190 pharmacies linked to antibiotic sales. The authority issued show-cause notices to these shops and initiated action in accordance with the rules.
Officials noticed several clear problems during inspections. These included selling antibiotics without a doctor’s prescription, not giving bills, running shops without registered pharmacists, and not keeping Schedule H-1 drug and prescription records.
The Drug Control Authority said the drive aimed to stop the wrong use of antibiotics. Such misuse, officials stated, increases antimicrobial resistance and poses a risk to public health.
DCA warns against wrong antibiotic use
Drug Control Authority Director General Shahnawaz Qasim said misuse of antibiotics could make these medicines stop working in the future. He said the World Health Organisation had warned that antimicrobial resistance was a serious global health issue.
He said antimicrobial resistance ranked among the top 10 health threats worldwide. In 2019, it directly caused about 12.7 lakh deaths across the world. He added that India remained among countries facing a high risk from antibiotic resistance.
Explaining further, Shahnawaz Qasim said repeated and wrong use of antibiotics helps bacteria grow stronger. Because of this, even small infections may become hard to treat. Doctors often call such bacteria “superbugs”.
He said people must use antibiotics only when a qualified doctor prescribes them. He also warned against self-treatment and said antibiotics do not cure viral infections like cold and cough. Unneeded antibiotic use, he said, could reduce the medicine’s effect later.
🚨 To curb Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), the Drug Control Administration, Telangana conducted a special statewide drive on 21 Jan 2026 💊
🔍 Raids were conducted at medical shops to prevent the indiscriminate sale of antibiotics.#AMR #PublicHealth pic.twitter.com/Bx2tD8b3cn— DCA Telangana (@DCATelangana) January 21, 2026