Skip to player
Skip to main content
Skip to footer
Search
Connect
Watch fullscreen
Like
Comments
Bookmark
Share
Add to Playlist
Report
Antibiotic to treat respiratory issues in short supply
ABC NEWS (Australia)
Follow
6/12/2024
There is a critical shortage of a key antibiotic used to treat children with respiratory issues and demand is growing as winter illnesses ramp up. Families are going to multiple pharmacies to fill scripts, with alternatives also hard to find.
Category
📺
TV
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
A coughing baby and a frustrated mum.
00:05
16-month-old Miles Hooper has pneumonia for the second time in months.
00:10
He needed antibiotics but they're out of stock, prompting his mum to recruit her mother-in-law
00:15
to help with the ring around.
00:18
I think between the two of us we probably called a dozen chemists.
00:21
Pharmacists say they see mums like Kyanne Hooper every day.
00:25
We're getting parents come in, they're quite desperate, they're stressed out, they've got
00:28
a sick child at home and they're seeking antibiotics that they've been to five, seven, ten pharmacies
00:34
and unfortunately we just don't have it.
00:37
They're after the liquid form of azithromycin that treats whooping cough, chest infections
00:42
and breathing issues.
00:43
GPs say they'll work with pharmacists but it takes time.
00:47
We know that we'll be able to find a solution to this problem working together because often
00:51
the first, second and even third line choice for antimicrobial drugs are not available
00:56
at the moment.
00:57
But there's a shortfall of 424 medications in Australia and another 67 are likely to
01:03
be affected.
01:06
Azithromycin is one on the critically low supply list with 11 more to come.
01:11
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler says new government policies should improve manufacturing
01:16
so there'll be fewer shortages into the future.
01:20
But that's unlikely to make a difference this winter.
01:22
A lot of parents will find themselves in a position where they feel they have no option
01:26
but to go to an emergency department, which is good for no one really.
Recommended
2:54
|
Up next
NSW SES & BoM update as heavy rain and winds batter NSW
Australian Community Media
today
0:58
Detection dogs paddleboard to sniff out platypus population
Australian Community Media
yesterday
2:16
Canberra news and sport week ending June 29th, 2025.
The Canberra Times
yesterday
0:35
Filipino pug Jeo Santisima Back in action in Japan
PTVPhilippines
yesterday
2:12
American tennis star Taylor Fritz wins Men’s Singles Finals at Eastbourne Open
PTVPhilippines
yesterday
0:30
Katseye’s new EP tops last week’s fan-voted music poll
PTVPhilippines
yesterday
0:24
Crystal Papali'i strip and score
The Canberra Times
3 days ago
0:30
Parental Guidance returns
The Canberra Times
3 days ago
2:19
National trial for lung cancer screening to extend to non-smokers
ABC NEWS (Australia)
today
1:50
Queensland’s nurses and midwives say they are gaslit by government overpay negotiations
ABC NEWS (Australia)
today
1:57
NT National Park expanded in efforts to entice tourists in the Australia’s Top End
ABC NEWS (Australia)
today
2:01
Preliminary finding found of coronial inquest into first youth death in WA’s detention
ABC NEWS (Australia)
today
2:47
Advocates praises the ACT for raising the age of criminal responsibility
ABC NEWS (Australia)
yesterday
3:25
Legal expert says increase incarceration due to tough bail laws
ABC NEWS (Australia)
yesterday
2:17
Lobby group advocate for benefits to address placement poverty for university and TAFE students
ABC NEWS (Australia)
yesterday
1:17
Boy bitten by shark on the Northern New South Wales
ABC NEWS (Australia)
yesterday
2:42
Brisbane bus riders brace for delays with changes heralding the city’s metro
ABC NEWS (Australia)
yesterday
3:17
Calls for an overhaul over Community benefit scheme that allow clubs to take out more gambling earnings
ABC NEWS (Australia)
yesterday
2:41
Peak bodies urge the federal government to assist seniors in Australia’s top end
ABC NEWS (Australia)
yesterday
2:29
Adults sandwiched between children and ailing parents call for cultural rethinking
ABC NEWS (Australia)
yesterday
1:37
Magpie named ‘Jellybean’ credited to saving West Australian woman’s wife
ABC NEWS (Australia)
2 days ago
2:02
South Australian government invest in autism inclusion teachers
ABC NEWS (Australia)
2 days ago
1:58
Adelaide beachgoers urged to report dead and washed-up sea life
ABC NEWS (Australia)
2 days ago
1:42
Isolated patients’ risk being left out from care with changes to national disability insurance
ABC NEWS (Australia)
2 days ago
1:43
Cars raced from Australia’s most western end to the top end sold for cancer research
ABC NEWS (Australia)
2 days ago