A common household staple has been linked to one of the world’s most pressing health threats: antibiotic resistance.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), bacterial resistance was directly responsible for 1.27 million deaths globally in 2019 and continues to pose a serious public health risk.
New research from the University of South Australia reveals that widely used painkillers such as ibuprofen and paracetamol can contribute to antibiotic resistance. The study, the first of its kind, found that both drugs can drive resistance when used individually and may even amplify it when taken together.
In one experiment, combining ibuprofen and paracetamol with the broad-spectrum antibiotic ciprofloxacin to treat Escherichia coli (E. coli) resulted in significantly increased bacterial mutations, making the bacteria highly resistant not only to ciprofloxacin but also to multiple other antibiotics from different classes.
Lead researcher Associate Professor Rietie Venter explained, “We uncovered the genetic mechanisms behind this resistance. Both ibuprofen and paracetamol activate bacterial defenses that expel antibiotics, rendering them less effective.”
The study also examined other medications, including metformin and pseudoephedrine, highlighting that antibiotic resistance is no longer solely linked to antibiotics themselves. Venter emphasized that while antibiotics remain essential for treating infectious diseases, their overuse and misuse, combined with interactions from other medications, are driving a global rise in resistant bacteria.
The researchers noted the importance of further studies to understand how various drugs impact antibiotic effectiveness, particularly for vulnerable groups such as residents in aged care homes who often take multiple medications daily. Venter stressed, “This doesn’t mean we should stop using these medications, but we need to be mindful of how they interact with antibiotics and consider more than just two-drug combinations.”
