Superbugs

Peter Collignon

Professor Peter Collignon is the Director of the Infectious Diseases Unit and Microbiology at the Canberra Hospital.  He has researched antibiotic resistance and has looked closely at hospital-acquired infections and infection control. Peter says superbugs are a real problem and that doctors need to stop prescribing so many antibiotics.

Christiaan Van Vuuren

The self-described ‘Fully Sick Rapper’ was diagnosed with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in 2010 and placed in quarantine in a Sydney hospital for more than 6 months. While there, Christiaan documented his experience by making videos on his laptop which soon made him a worldwide YouTube sensation.  He’s no longer in quarantine but still has extensive medication and has to visit the doctor every day.  Or, to put it in Christiaan’s words: "I'm sick and I mean physically sick".

Matthew Cooper

Professor Matthew Cooper works at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland. He has spent years examining antibiotic resistance and leads a group researching novel antibiotics which are active against drug-resistant bugs, particularly those responsible for hospital-acquired infections like MRSA and NDM-1. Matthew believes antibiotics are a precious natural resource and should be treated as such by governments.

Read Matthew's latest article online at The Conversation.

Liz Marles

Dr Liz Marles is Vice President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, and is a practising GP in Sydney. She's been involved in teaching junior doctors for more than ten years. Dr Marles believes that responsible prescribing is a core skill for GPs as they're the ones who treat most infectious diseases that occur in the community. She says GPs have done a lot to reduce the amount of antibiotics they prescribe and that current antibiotic use is appropriate.