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Articles on Antimicrobial overuse

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Will we still have antibiotics in 50 years? We asked 7 global experts

We asked 7 global experts in microbiology and biochemistry if we are headed towards a future with no antimicrobial agents.
Quaternary ammonium compounds can linger on surfaces and in indoor air and dust long after the disinfectant has dried. Guido Mieth/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Disinfectants and cleaning products harboring toxic chemicals are widely used despite lack of screening for potential health hazards

Quaternary ammonium compounds, also known as QACs or quats, are commonly used antimicrobials also found in many household products. Soap and water may be a safer bet when cleaning surfaces.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria (coloured yellow) enmeshed within a human white blood cell (coloured red). MRSA is a major cause of hospital-associated infections. (NIAID)

Drug-resistant superbugs: A global threat intensified by the fight against coronavirus

Antimicrobial resistance is a public health and economic disaster waiting to happen. If we do not address this threat, by 2050 more people will die from drug-resistant infections than from cancer.
Antibiotic resistance is not new but recent developments increase the urgency for action. Shutterstock

‘Super gonorrhoea’ raises the stakes in the war against superbugs

Superbugs used to pose the greatest risk to people with compromised immune systems and those who had surgery. But their sexual transmission means antibiotic resistance can spread much more widely.
According to the World Health Organisation, antimicrobial resistance is now at crisis point. from www.shutterstock.com.au

Recent death from resistant bug won’t be the last

The US Centers for Disease Control has reported a woman in her 70s has died of overwhelming sepsis caused by a bacterium that was resistant to all available antibiotics.

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