Antibiotics can prevent serious harm and stop infections becoming fatal. But they won’t kill common cold and flu viruses, and careless overprescribing by doctors can do more harm than good.
- Prof. Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland
We’ve heard a lot lately about superbugs – bacteria that are resistant to current antibiotics. But as the threat of superbugs continues to rise, the number of new treatments available has flatlined. This…
Heralded as a “miracle of modern medicine” when they were first discovered, antibiotics have been overused for so long that most have become ineffective. Stories about superbugs (bacteria resistant to…
If you haven’t heard about the threat “superbugs” (bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics) pose to our health, it’s likely you haven’t been conscious or on the planet for a couple of years. There are…
Unchecked use of antibiotics in Chinese farms had led to widespread antibiotic resistance, a new study has found, with researchers warning the problem may spread worldwide through manure and fertiliser…
Bacteria are one of the most successful colonisers of the planet. They can be found in almost all environments we know – from the deepest oceans to acid lakes, and inside and on our bodies. And the history…
Most experts considering the subject agree that the antibiotic development pipeline is not sufficient by a long shot. The days when there was always a new antibiotic just around the corner to treat the…
New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1, or NDM-1 bacteria as they’re commonly known, are among the most dangerous superbugs to have emerged in recent years. They’re resistant to almost all the antibiotics…
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…
The rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria, or “superbugs” is a critical global health issue. Paradoxically, while there is a compelling need for new antibiotics, their development has slowed…
We depend on antibiotics to treat what previously were fatal conditions. But the more we use them, the more the bacteria they fight become resistant to all the weapons in our arsenal. Bacterial resistance…
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