Whanganui talk on antibiotic resistance

Professor Nigel French is coming to Whanganui to talk about antibiotic resistance - its causes and what can be done about it. Photo / supplied

Massey University Professor Nigel French is coming to Whanganui this month to talk about one of the world's most pressing public health problems - bacterial resistance to antibiotics.

His talk is in the Davis Lecture Theatre at 7.30pm on May 29. It will cost $4 for Whanganui Science Forum members and $5 for others, and supper will be provided after it.

The overuse of antibiotics has caused some harmful bacteria to change in such a way that they cannot be killed by the usual means. Bacteria not killed by antibiotics create dangerous infections that can disable or kill.

The resistant bacteria can then be passed on to other people, increasing the number of people with incurable disease.

Both doctors and vets have been blamed for overprescribing antibiotics. Professor French will talk about which group uses them most, and what will happen if they stop working.

He'll talk about how fewer antibiotics can be used, and how reducing the amount given to animals will affect human health. He'll touch on how New Zealand can do its bit to ensure the world continues to have antibiotics to fight infection.

French is a Distinguished Professor of Food Safety and Veterinary Public Health. He also directs the New Zealand Food Safety Science & Research Centre.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 2014, for his work on infectious diseases in New Zealand and internationally.