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Hidden side effects: antibiotics affect gut for a year
12 November 2015
Eastman Researchers Professor Mike Wilson and Dr David Spratt have co-authored a new paper which reveals long-term consequences of a single course of antibiotics.
The study found that the drugs disrupt the normal makeup of microorganisms in the gut for as long as a year 鈥� and potentially lead to antibiotic resistance.
By contrast, microorganisms in the saliva showed signs of renewal in just a few weeks.
David said: 鈥淭he research has revealed that a course of antibiotics not only disturbs the normal make-up of our stomachs but also enriches genes associated with antibiotic resistance.
鈥淭his long-term interference adds even more weight to the call to withhold antibiotics except when absolutely necessary.鈥�
The researchers also found that British participants began the study with more antibiotic resistance than their Swedish counterparts.
in the Journal of the American Society for Microbiology and .
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