Men’s Group Learns about Antibiotic Resistance

INUF staff member, Cordelia Ibe, who recently graduated with a degree in Health Promotion from the University of East London, gave a forty-minute Powerpoint presentation to about a dozen members of the INUF Men’s Group, on the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotic resistance happens when bacteria change, and become resistant to the drugs used to treat the infections they cause. It can happen when antibiotics are given too often to patients, who don’t really need them, which then results in drug-resistant bacteria developing in the gut of the patients. If these patients then attend a hospital or clinic, the bacteria can spread to other patients, due to poor hygiene or unclean facilities.

At the end of the session, Cordelia answered lots of questions from the group, such as what time of day is best to take antibiotics.

Students from UEL’s Bioscience Department have been giving talks all over East London on the topic, to raise awareness of the dangers of over-prescribing antibiotics, and have even been to Nigeria to spread the word.