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While antimicrobial resistance is a threat to all humanity, a tale of two worlds emerges, highlighting the heightened vulnerability of low- and middle-income countries. (Shutterstock)

Antimicrobial resistance now hits lower-income countries the hardest, but superbugs are a global threat we must all fight

The contrasting realities of antimicrobial resistance between high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries demands international co-operation to effectively fight superbugs.
Antibiotics can be a wonder for treating bacterial infections – but we need to be cautious in how we use them. From shutterstock.com

Antibiotic resistant superbugs kill 32 plane-loads of people a week. We can all help fight back

Antibiotic resistant superbugs kill 32 plane-loads of people a week. We can all help fight back The Conversation, CC BY48 MB (download)
Antibiotic resistant infections already kill about 700,000 people globally every year. While scientists are racing to find new ways to fight superbugs, there's one thing you can do, too.
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.
A quantum dot: A high-resolution transmission electron micrograph of cadmium telluride nanoparticles. (The scale bar in the lower right is 2 nanometers long, or two millionths of a millimeter.) Nagpal Group, University of Colorado

Fighting superbugs with nanotechnology and light

Quantum dots - minuscule semiconductor particles with specific light-absorption properties - can kill drug-resistant superbugs without harming the surrounding healthy tissue.
Staph aureus bloodstream infection has a 12-month death rate of between 20 and 35%. Joe Techapanupreeda/Shutterstock

Golden staph: the deadly bug that wreaks havoc in hospitals

Which of the following conditions would you prefer to have during your next stay in hospital? A. Staphylococcus aureus (Golden Staph) bloodstream infection; or B. a heart attack?
Whole genome sequencing can help identify the source of the antibiotic resistance. Shutterstock

Genomic analysis could help win the fight against superbugs

Some recent headlines from Australian newspapers: NSW hospitals worst place for Golden Staph; CA-MRSA - the killer in our midst; Superbug onslaught. By now, most people are aware that antibiotic-resistant…

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