Antibiotic resistance

Antibiotics are no longer routinely used to treat infections.

This is because:

Both the NHS and health organisations across the world are trying to reduce the use of antibiotics, especially for health problems that are not serious.

For example, antibiotics are no longer routinely used to treat:

Antibiotic resistance and 'superbugs'

The overuse of antibiotics in recent years means they're becoming less effective and has led to the emergence of "superbugs".

These are strains of bacteria that have developed resistance to many different types of antibiotics, including:

These types of infections can be serious and challenging to treat, and are becoming an increasing cause of disability and death across the world.

The biggest worry is that new strains of bacteria may emerge that cannot be treated by any existing antibiotics.

Page last reviewed: 1 August 2019
Next review due: 1 August 2019