Too many antibiotics could be putting people at higher risk of resistant bacteria

A study has found there were no major adverse outcomes in New Zealand from a cut-back on prescriptions during the original Covid-19 lockdown.

Auckland University infectious disease specialist Mark Thomas, who led the study, says our prescribing rates remain comparatively high.

He says prescription rates should drop by about a third ... because high antibiotic consumption creates more chances for resistant bacteria to spread.

Thomas says more spread means we will increasingly develop bacteria that can't be treated.