Skip to: Main Navigation | Main Content
or try the A-Z Library
You've probably heard of superbugs. But what exactly are they and should you be worried?
Superbug. The word evokes the image of a giant bug rampaging through city streets killing everyone in its path.
While this scenario is more Hollywood than World Health Organization, concerns over superbugs are real.
We live in a time when we expect that if we get sick, there is a medicine to help us get better. But what if these medicines no longer worked?
This scenario is a real possibility with the rise of certain bacteria known as superbugs, says Peter Collignon, a professor of infectious diseases and microbiology at the Australian National University.
Bacteria are everywhere, mostly they are harmless, often they are helpful and sometimes they cause illness. Bacterial infections range from mild conditions (eg minor skin or ear infections) to potentially deadly illnesses (eg meningitis, pneumonia or staph bloodstream infections).
Infections caused by bacteria are usually treated with antibiotics. These wonder drugs have saved countless lives, but only treat infections or illnesses caused by bacteria (they are useless against viral illnesses, such as the common cold, or parasites).
Superbugs are strains of bacteria that have changed (or mutated) after coming into contact with an antibiotic. Once this happens, these bacteria are 'resistant' to the antibiotic to which they have been exposed, which means the antibiotic can't kill the bacteria or stop them from multiplying.
So you end up with bacteria in effect equipped with "bullet proof vests" that deflect our "magic silver bullets" of antibiotics, says Collignon.
"Antibiotics are the only drugs that actually cure illnesses, but the problem with such great drugs is that they are overused in people and agriculture," he says.
It's estimated that around half of all antibiotic use in people in Australia is unnecessary, and it's not just our overuse that's a problem. Not taking antibiotics properly can also lead to resistance. So you need to make sure you:
But overuse of antibiotics in people is not the whole story.
Collignon says almost two thirds of antibiotic misuse occurs in the agricultural sector, where livestock are routinely given these drugs to help prevent illness and promote growth.
While less of an issue in Australia, in some countries, last-line antibiotics given to chickens and other livestock cause superbugs to develop. These superbugs can then easily transfer to the human population's food and water supply and increase the risk of antibiotic resist bacteria in people.
"There is ample evidence if you stop giving certain drugs to animals there are a lot less superbugs in people," Collignon says.
The World Health Organization has identified antibiotic resistance as one of the greatest threats facing human health.
Around the world there are now millions of infections caused by superbugs per year. In Australia superbugs, such as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium responsible for hard-to-treat infections in people) and resistant E.coli, are causing infections in thousands of people per year and these people face the prospect of a prolonged illness, or possibly death.
This is because our standard treatments don't work on superbugs and finding a treatment that will work takes time.
"Most superbugs still have one antibiotic left that works [to treat it], but they usually have to be given intravenously and are a much more toxic drug," says Collignon.
What's more is there are no alternative drugs to fight superbugs in the pipeline, says Collignon.
He argues there is little incentive for pharmaceutical companies to develop new antibiotics, as one course usually cures an infection. These businesses can make bigger money developing treatments that have to be taken long-term.
"That's why we have to preserve the antibiotics we have," Collignon says.
Superbugs also pose a problem for people undergoing a range of medical and surgical procedures, such as bowel surgery, hip replacements and leukaemia treatments. Antibiotics are an essential component of these treatments, which could all be jeopardised if we continue to see an increase in the number of superbugs in our hospitals.
In Collignon's view, governments and individuals need to take steps to stop the overuse of antibiotics, otherwise the future of medical treatment faces a major set-back.