CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A study shows West Virginia ranks second among the states in residents' use of antibiotics.
Figures released by the nonprofit Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on Tuesday show there were 1,178 prescriptions filled for every 1,000 West Virginia residents in 2010.
West Virginia ranked fifth in 1999, when the rate was 1,191 prescriptions.
While West Virginia's rate dropped slightly, antibiotic prescriptions nationally fell 17 percent between 1999 and 2010, when there were 801 prescriptions filled for every 1,000 residents.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's has declared this week as "Get Smart About Antibiotics Week."
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