England World Cup winner Matt Dawson has revealed how antibiotics played a crucial role in saving his son Sami’s life after he was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis as a two-year-old. Now 12, Sami spent a fortnight in intensive care and recovered largely thanks to a course of antibiotics.
Personal experience drives campaign
Dawson is lending his support to the Keep antibiotics in play campaign to raise awareness of antibiotic resistance. Teaming up with the Fleming Initiative, with funding and support from GSK, he hopes to encourage the public to help protect antibiotics.
He said: “Sami’s illness was the worst time of my life. We owe his survival to the doctors who treated him and to antibiotics that worked. We’re fortunate to have these medicines, but that could change. We need to get the message out there that we all have a role to play, from preventing infections through vaccination to taking antibiotics only when necessary.”
Growing threat of superbugs
Antibiotics are essential to treat bacterial infections, but their effectiveness is under threat as bacteria develop resistance due to overuse and misuse. Often referred to as ‘superbugs’, these resistant bacteria make common infections harder to treat and increase risks associated with routine procedures including surgery and cancer treatment.
Antibiotic resistance already causes over one million deaths each year, and without urgent action, almost 40 million lives could be lost between 2025 and 2050.
Simple steps to protect antibiotics
To reduce antibiotic resistance, everyone can follow simple steps: use antibiotics only when needed and prescribed, take them exactly as directed, never save or share them, and trust professional advice without pushing for antibiotics if not required.
Dawson added: “The statistics are pretty striking. Far too many people assume there’s always an easy fix through antibiotics, and misuse is having a serious long-term impact. One statistic that really stood out was that around one in five people don’t know antibiotics only work for bacterial infections. Many people still think they’ll help with coughs and colds.”
A call to action
Rebecca Adlington, Matt Dawson and Alice Tai have teamed up with the Fleming Initiative to launch the Keep antibiotics in play campaign, with funding and support from GSK. Dawson concluded: “When you’ve been through something like that, you realise just how important these issues are. You want to do whatever you can to lend your support, and this campaign was definitely one that stood out.”
