HEALTH chiefs and politicians insist there are no shortages of antibiotics including those used to treat children who have contracted the Strep A bacteria.
Pharmacists are reporting problems accessing many of the antibiotics, including liquid penicillin V, amoxicillin and clarithromycin.
One online market for pharmacists showed there was none available of the three used to treat Strep A, along with many other types of antibiotics.
Local pharmacists canvassed by BBC said they were running out of liquid penicillin and may be unable to meet patient demand.
But the Department of Health said "supplies of antibiotics for the treatment of Strep A infection remain available across the UK and so GPs will be able to prescribe the most effective treatment".
A spokesperson added: "The department continues to work closely with national counterparts and the supply chain to maintain the flow of supplies to Northern Ireland over the coming days and to identify any other mitigations that will inform further advice to the HSC.
"Medicines are supplied to NI as part of a wider UK supply chain. The department understands that UK antibiotic supplies remain good however local level supply issues for some antibiotics have arisen due to a recent acute increase in demand.
"This is necessitating engagement with the supply chain to ensure that supplies are distributed to where they need to be to meet demand, including NI."
The department added that medicine supply issues occur for a number of reasons including manufacturing difficulties, regulatory problems, problems with the supply of raw materials, sudden demand spikes or from issues which are related to the distribution of the product.
"The department would like to reassure the public that there are national and locally tried and trusted mitigation arrangements in place for dealing with any supply distributions to ensure that patients continue to get the medicines they need," the spokesperson said.
Under NHS guidelines, many children who became ill with Strep A would be prescribed Penicillin V, or phenoxymethylpenicillin.
Supplies of one of the most popular brands of this drug are running low, according to online tracker MIMS, used by many health professionals.
Shortages of clarithromycin, an alternative for children and adults with a penicillin allergy, are also reported. But the UK government insisted there is no shortage of of antibiotics.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said he was in "close contact" with suppliers and none have warned of of dwindling stocks of the drugs.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the House of Commons: "There are no current shortages of drugs available to treat this and there are well-established procedures in place to ensure that that remains the case.
'There is no reason to believe that (Strep A) has become more lethal and more resistant to antibiotics, so the most important thing for parents to do is look out for the symptoms and get the treatment that is available for them."
