A new report shows Australians are being exposed to an increased risk of harm, from taking antibiotics.
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00:00 Though Australia's use of antibiotics is trending down, Australia is still amongst the highest
00:08 in the world of antibiotic use.
00:10 Last year, one in three people got a prescription for antibiotics.
00:15 When they're being used with little to no benefit, they could actually be doing more
00:19 harm than good.
00:22 The biggest issues are the adverse side effects of antibiotics, as well as the rise of several
00:27 dangerous bacteria that are becoming increasingly more resistant to antibiotics.
00:33 When that happens, it makes it more difficult to treat serious infections.
00:39 In Australia, hundreds of people are dying each year due to antibiotic-resistant infections.
00:46 Globally, the World Health Organization, they estimate that due to antibiotic resistance,
00:53 there could be up to 10 million deaths each year by 2050.
00:59 Australia's antibiotic use did decline quite significantly.
01:02 The big driver of that was the COVID-19 pandemic.
01:07 We spoke to Professor John Turnage, who is the senior medical advisor for this report.
01:14 Here's what he had to say.
01:16 In 2020, usage dropped by 25 per cent, and the same in 2021.
01:23 What worries us, though, is it's now crawling back up again, and we think, when people are
01:28 getting back to the doctor, the message about taking antibiotics for viruses or not taking
01:34 antibiotics for viruses has been lost.
01:37 The report found that the highest use of antibiotics was throughout New South Wales, Victoria and
01:43 Queensland.
01:44 The report also found that 23 per cent of antibiotics that were prescribed in hospitals
01:50 around the country were done so inappropriately, and also that 80 per cent of cases of bronchitis
01:57 in the community were treated or were given antibiotics.
02:01 That is despite there being no evidence of there being any benefit from antibiotics.
02:08 Professor Turnage said that this is Australia's opportunity to keep going on that downward
02:14 trend of using antibiotics.
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