Galway research warns against overprescribing of antibiotics

New research carried out by NUI Galway has warned that antibiotics are being overused.

The research found that doctors are now prescribing stronger antibiotics than before, despite concerns about the problem of resistance to the medicine.

The study also found that the use of powerful antibiotics will result in the development of more dangerous strains of bacterial infections that will be harder to fight.

Professor of Bacteriology at NUI Galway Martin Cormican said that bacteria is particularly resilient.

"Bacteria are just extraordinary organisms that change very quickly," he said.

"And because they change so quickly, anything they do in the world, bacteria that are adapted to that will turn up.

"And in a world that's full of antibiotics, the world is now using hundreds of tons of antibiotics, lots and lots of different antibiotics, bacteria have to become a different shape, if you like, in order to survive in that world."