A report warns Australia is under a growing threat of antibiotic resistant diseases being introduced from overseas, including multi-drug resistant tuberculosis from Papua New Guinea.
The Office of the Chief Scientist warns even common diseases will soon no longer be treatable because of the overuse of antibiotics and lack of research to develop new ones.
The "Meeting the Threat of Antibiotic Resistance" paper blames overseas travel for the emergence of an increasing number of resistant infections in Australia.
It also warns Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people are particularly at risk from TB from PNG.
Australian Chief Medical Officer Chris Baggoley told Stefan Armbruster there are a number of factors affecting human resistance to antibiotics.
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