Antibiotic-resistant infections are not just seen in hospitals, agriculture and countries overseas, and they are not a problem to deal with in the future.
Antibiotic resistance is already affecting individuals in the Australian community.
Infection with antibiotic-resistant bacteria is associated with longer stays in hospital and a higher death rate. In Australia, the prevalence of multi-resistant bacteria (also known as ‘superbugs’) is increasing, and more patients are getting staph infections that are resistant to multiple antibiotics.
If you have an infection that is caused by bacteria which is resistant to antibiotics you are more likely to die from that infection.
Examples of bacteria in the community that have already developed resistance to a number of antibiotics include strains of Escherichia coli (E coli) that cause many urinary tract infections. ‘Golden staph’, a common cause of skin infections, is another example.
Failure of the last-resort antibiotic treatment for the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhoea has occurred in Australia.