Overusing antibiotics – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

Even chickens need strong, healthy gut microbiomes. Moonborne/Shutterstock

December 2, 2021

Swapping probiotics for antibiotics: how it could be a game changer for chickens, and us

Deon Neveling, Stellenbosch University

The probiotic decreases the presence of pathogens in the animal’s gut and can be used safely on a daily basis.

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)

April 20, 2020

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

Lori L. Burrows, McMaster University

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.

More stringent use of antibiotics is needed to curb antibiotic resistance. But how can we achieve this? From shutterstock.com

January 10, 2020

We can reverse antibiotic resistance in Australia. Here’s how Sweden is doing it

Mina Bakhit, Bond University; Chris Del Mar, Bond University, and Helena Kornfält Isberg, Lund University

Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest health challenges we face today. But making a few small changes to the way antibiotics are prescribed could make a big difference in Australia.

And don’t infect everyone else in the office either. Shutterstock

November 13, 2018

Why you shouldn’t take antibiotics for colds and flu

Carol Ann Kelly, Edge Hill University

The overuse of antibiotics puts vulnerable patients and society at risk.

A poster from a world summit in Hong Kong on preparing for worldwide pandemics in June 2010. Despite efforts to develop plans, none is yet in place. Vincent Yu/AP Photo

August 20, 2018

Three reasons the US is not ready for the next pandemic

Christine Crudo Blackburn, Texas A&M University; Andrew Natsios, Texas A&M University, and Gerald W Parker, Texas A&M University

It’s not a matter of if, but when, the next deadly pandemic will strike. Will the world be ready?

Antibiotic resistance is not new but recent developments increase the urgency for action. Shutterstock

April 5, 2018

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

Mark Blaskovich, The University of Queensland

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.

Some patients may be prescribed antibiotics as preventatives, rather than to treat infections. from www.shutterstock.com.au

October 2, 2017

Drug resistance: how we keep track of whether antibiotics are being used responsibly

Kirsty Buising, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and Karin Thursky, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity

We know overuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics contribute to resistance, so it’s important we develop strategies to improve practice.

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