Australia has some of the world’s most conservative restrictions on using antimicrobial drugs in livestock. Possibly as a consequence, we have some of the lowest rates in the world of antibiotic resistance…
Ask whether you really need to take antibiotics and be vigilant with food and water when traveling.
duncan
Bacteria resistant to antibiotics are reaching epidemic proportions around the world, particularly in developing countries. In Australia, we’re also seeing increasing numbers of serious infections which…
Not taking the whole course of antibiotics leads to the survival of a small number of bacteria that can tolerate the drug.
Dave Rutt
You’ve got a high fever, severe cough and find it hard to breathe – all symptoms of severe pneumonia. Before antibiotics, you’d likely be dead within ten days. In fact, before we had these amazing drugs…
Two views in today’s Medical Journal of Australia deal with attitudes to risk and economics, but with the added gravitas of a life-or-death outcome added to the consideration. The articles discuss the…
We sometimes forget that antibiotics kill beneficial microorganisms as well as those that threaten our health. In fact, the damage they wreak on “good” germs could be responsible for the growth of certain…
We know, because it’s big news, that drug-resistant infections are on the rise globally. But could Australian mammals hold the key to a fightback? Our current crop of antibiotics is in danger of becoming…
The development and dissemination of Salmonella Kentucky’s antimicrobial resistance may be caused by the antibiotics used in animals farmed for food.
shannonkringen/flickr
Recent outbreaks of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (e-coli) in Germany and reports about the emergence of “new superbug” Salmonella Kentucky have re-focused public attention on food-borne diseases…
Consultant Microbiologist, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland and Professor and Head of Department, Clinical Microbiology, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences