To finish, or not to finish, your course of antibiotics? There’s little doubt that you shouldn’t stop midstream.
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New reports that stopping antibiotics when you feel better is better for you could do more harm than good. But it has reopened the debate on how long antibiotics should be used.
Green colonies of allergenic fungus Penicillium from air spores on a petri dish. Penicillin was the first antibiotic.
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We’ve been told for a long time that we must take all of our antibiotics. But maybe we didn’t need so many to begin with. Here’s why.
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An article in a leading health journal causes confusion and undoes years of hard work in raising awareness of antibiotic resistance.
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Simple and inexpensive gene-editing technology such as CRISPR has made the creation of genetically modified organisms much easier. But could nature still keep the upper hand?
Drug-resistant strains of gonorrhoea, once easily dispatched with penicillin, are spreading across the globe resulting in chronic pain and sterility.
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Without leading edge innovations and coordination, Canadians will die from the epidemic of antibiotic resistant infections.
Antibiotics Staphylex, used to treat the infection Golden Staph.
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Speaking with: Dr Mark Blaskovich on antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the threat of superbugs
The Conversation , CC BY-ND 45.2 MB (download)
William Isdale speaks with Mark Blaskovich about his research into antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the threat these superbugs pose to communities.
We’re increasingly seeing bugs in Australia resistant to many antibiotics. We’re yet to see one resistant to ALL antibiotics.
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In the last decade we’ve seen a ten-fold increase in the number of bacteria resistant to last-resort antibiotics.
Our study suggests setting targets for antibiotic prescribing is the next step to curb their overuse.
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A study that shows GPs are prescribing about five million too many antibiotic scripts a year means we have to take a radical new approach to reducing use of these drugs.
Modern diets are changing the compositions of our gut microbiota, and with that, our personalities.
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For most of the twentieth century, we were at war with microbes, leading to substantial changes in our body’s ecosystem. This has changed our diets, disease profile, moods and even personalities.
Antibiotics are administered to surgery patients to prevent infections.
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Infection of wounds for surgery patients is on the rise in developing countries. A shorter dose of antibiotics is appropriate.
Some of the notable additions to the PBS include drugs to treat eye and HIV infections, cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis, and cancer.
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An independent expert provides his pick of the most notable drugs added to the PBS on May 1, 2017.
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Eat less meat, save the world
Many in the Western Front contracted haemorrhagic dysentery.
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When commemorating our troops, doctors and nurses this Anzac Day, consider also tipping your hat to the discovery of bacteriophages. In the post-antibiotic era, our health might just depend on them.
Open wide … the mouths of crocodiles like this contain bacteria that cause potentially lethal infections in people they bite.
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Until recently we didn’t know much about which antibiotic is best for people who have been attacked by a crocodile.
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Both GPs and patients need to wake up to the immediate risk that antibiotic misuse poses.
A recipe for an eyesalve from ‘Bald’s Leechbook.’
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A team of medievalists and scientists look back to history – including a 1,000-year-old eyesalve recipe – for clues to new antibiotics.
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Taxing meat may be unpopular, but an urgent problem calls for an urgent solution.
Reining the mind back from fearful things.
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A cheap antibiotic may help prevent the formation of fearful memories.
TB most commonly causes pneumonia. Sick people experience cough, fever, sweats and weight loss, usually over weeks to months.
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In Australia, there are around 1200 to 1300 cases of tuberculosis each year which means we are among the lowest-risk countries in the world.
Science is stepping up – what about you?
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Resistance is growing but there are ways that hospitals – as well as the public – can stem the tide.