The World Health Organization published a new classification of antibiotics on Tuesday that aims to fight drug resistance, with penicillin-type drugs recommended as the first line of defense while colistin should not be used unless absolutely necessary, reports Reuters.
In its annual “model list of essential medicines”, the WHO also said Roche’s well-known flu drug, oseltamivir, may be removed from the recommended list unless new information supports its use in seasonal and pandemic influenza outbreaks.