Why don’t antibiotics cure everything?

Amber Minogue (0:02)

Bababam Why don't antibiotics cure everything?

Thanks for asking.

You've got a fever, a sore throat, and you felt awful for the last couple of days. You see your GP only to leave without a prescription. It's frustrating. Most of us have been there wondering, why don't they just give me antibiotics? The answer is simple, and it's one of the biggest public health challenges of our time. But aren't antibiotics supposed to treat infections? Yes, but only some of them. Antibiotics only work against bacteria, but many of the illnesses we catch, like colds, flu, most cases of bronchitis, and more than 80% of sore throats are caused by viruses. Against those, antibiotics do nothing.

The confusion is understandable because bacterial and viral infections often feel the same, but they're very different. Bacteria are living cells that reproduce on their own. Viruses can only multiply by invading our cells. Penicillin, for example, kills bacteria by attacking their protective cell wall. Viruses don't have one, so there's nothing for the drug to target.

Antibiotics revolutionise medicine, making everything from routine operations to cancer treatment much safer, but they can also become less effective over time. Why is that? It's down to evolution. In any population of bacteria, a few are naturally resistant. Antibiotics kill the vulnerable bacteria, but the resistant ones survive, multiply and spread. That's antibiotic resistance. In the UK, antibiotic resistant infections are linked to around 7,600 deaths each year, with hundreds of thousands of resistant infections recorded annually. And the problem is growing. A major 2024 Lancet study, analyzing data from 204 countries over 30 years, warned that antimicrobial resistance could directly cause nearly 2 million deaths a year by 2050, if current trends continue.

Human medicine isn't the only source of the problem. Antibiotics are also used in livestock to treat and prevent diseases. Although regulations have tightened in countries like the UK, their use in farming can still encourage resistant bacteria which can spread to people through food, the environment, or direct contact with animals. So what can we do? Fortunately, the most effective steps are also the simplest. Only take antibiotics when they're prescribed by a healthcare professional, finish the full course even if you start feeling better, and never use leftover antibiotics from a previous illness.

So if your doctor doesn't prescribe antibiotics, it's probably because you don't need them. And that's actually good news. There you have it. Now you know why antibiotics don't cure everything. In under three minutes, we answer your questions and help you understand the true meaning behind the trends, concepts and acronyms that are making headlines. Listen along, and you really will know for sure.