World Antibiotic Day will be observed in the Virgin Islands’ with the hosting of an essay and video competition.

Chief of Drugs and Pharmaceutical Services, Mrs. Gracia Wheatley-Smith says the competitions are to raise awareness among our children and the community about antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR is the ability of a microorganism like bacteria, viruses and some parasites to stop an antimicrobial such as an antibiotic or antiviral from working against it.

“This result in standard treatments becoming ineffective which can cause infections to persist and spread to others,” Mrs. Wheatley Smith said.

Students between ages 9 and 12 are invited to participate in the Essay Competition on the topic of ‘How Antibiotics Help And Hurt Us’. Entries must be typed in 12 Times New Roman font size with 1 and half spacing. Students must ensure that the name of their school, their full name, grade, gender, age and contact information is also attached to the front page and saved in a pdf format.

Meanwhile, students in all secondary schools and the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College are invited to participate in the Video Competition on the topic, “How Antibiotic use and misuse have impacted out life today’. The presentations can be produced on a cellphone and must not exceed 5 minutes in length. Students are encouraged to be creative

Essays and videos must be submitted via email to grwheatley-smith@gov.vg or gracie_wheatley@hotmail.com by October 31. Prizes for winners include an iPhone and an iPad. Winners will be announced on World Antibiotics Day on November 12.

For more information, interested persons can call 468-4526 or 468-9850.

The Ministry of Health and Social Development aspires to provide a caring and integrated system of health and social services that facilitates the recovery of human development and quality of life in the British Virgin Islands.