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Rise of the Superbugs

We are headed towards a post-antibiotic era, a world where common infections could become life-threatening. That's the message from The World Health Organisation, but are we listening?Rise of the Superbugs is a six-part series about antimicrobial resistance or "superbugs, telling the scary (but solvable) story of superbugs.The series explores our medical systems, through personal stories, waterways and acts of (human) resistance. We’ll talk to experts as we dig into our medicine cabinets, hospitals and backyards, the known past and predicted futures.Rise of the Superbugs reveals where the media has gone wrong in telling the superbug story and why we need to retell it.Host: Dr Britta Jorgensen. Producers: Sarah Mashman and Silvi Vann-Wall. Executive Producer: Professor Mia Lindgren.

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Rise of the Superbugs

The backyard: at home with resistant bacteria

December 16, 2021 • Rise of the Superbugs • Season 1 • Episode 4

Our backyards are full of resistant microbes. In this episode, we find out how they spread through all living organisms - including our pets, our farm animals and our wildlife. We head to the south coast of Australia for some birdwatching, and find out why migratory birds act as a "canary in the coal mine" for the spread of superbugs in our environment and why we need to pay more attention to this. We speak to vets and pet owners about the use of antibiotics in our much-loved pets. We consider an approach to antimicrobial stewardship known as One Health or 'planetary health' that considers the interconnected health of entire planet - humans, animals and the environment.

Host and producer: Dr Britta Jorgensen.

Producers: Sarah Mashman and Silvi Vann-Wall.

Executive Producer: Professor Mia Lindgren.