Public information key to fighting rising ‘superbug’ threat
With predictions drug-resistant ‘superbugs’ could cause up to 10 million deaths a year by 2050, a new survey reveals a low level of community knowledge about antibiotics.
Drug-resistant ‘superbugs’ could cause up to 10 million deaths a year by 2050. Photo by Alex Block/Unsplash
The rise of superbugs, which claimed the lives of an estimated 700,000 people globally in the past year, has been attributed to the overuse of antibiotics.
To combat the growing problem, the OUTBREAK project was set up in 2019 by the University of Technology Sydney, CSIRO and other partners. In a world first, the project aims to use Artificial Intelligence to predict superbug outbreaks and stop them before they reach the health system.
The team is also aiming to share trusted information on antibiotic resistance and build community knowledge in Australia. To understand the current situation, Australia's national science agency surveyed 2217 Australian adults.
Continue reading at UTS Newsroom: Public information key to fighting rising ‘superbug’ threat
