{
  "id": 3969621,
  "title": "‘Must I take all my antibiotics?’ Why infectious disease experts are rethinking this longstanding rule",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/must-i-take-all-my-antibiotics-why-infectious-disease-experts-are",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-28T12:17:45.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Conversation",
    "slug": "the-conversation",
    "url": "https://theconversation.com/must-i-take-all-my-antibiotics-why-infectious-disease-experts-are-rethinking-this-longstanding-rule-248617"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "For many years, experts believed that patients would develop antibiotic resistance if they stopped taking these medications too early. However, the conventional advice to \"complete the entire course\" has been challenged by modern understanding. As a physician focused on responsible antibiotic use, I've spent time considering whether the traditional recommendation is warranted. The widely held belief that incomplete courses allow surviving bacteria to become resistant is not supported by evidence. While some infections can recur after brief antibiotic use, this is usually due to reinfection or inadequate drug penetration. Bacteria responsible for strep throat, for instance, have never shown resistance to penicillin despite decades of use. The real concern is that antibiotics disrupt the body's natural bacterial communities, allowing resistant strains to gain an advantage. Studies have shown that shorter antibiotic courses can be equally effective in treating many infections, while reducing the potential for disruption of the microbiome. Healthcare providers now prescribe antibiotics for shorter durations when possible, though some complex infections still require longer treatment. Ultimately, the aim is to use the shortest antibiotic duration that reliably cures the infection, rather than simply \"finishing the course.\"",
  "summary": "For some illnesses, shorter courses of antibiotics work just as well as longer ones, but researchers are still working out the ideal timescales for many infections – and it may not line up with when you feel better.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}