Overview

• University of South Australia experiments showed ibuprofen or paracetamol increased mutation rates in Escherichia coli treated with the antibiotic ciprofloxacin, driving high resistance.
• Using both painkillers together amplified resistance beyond the effect of either drug alone.
• Exposed bacteria developed cross-resistance to multiple antibiotic classes, not just ciprofloxacin.
• Genetic analyses indicated activation of bacterial defence and efflux systems that expel antibiotics and blunt their effectiveness.
• The team assessed nine non-antibiotic drugs common in aged care and urged further research into long-term drug interactions as WHO cites 1.27 million deaths from antimicrobial resistance in 2019.