Disease resistance to antibiotics is rising faster than medical advances can keep up with, potentially putting billions around the world in danger.

The World Health Organisation's Global Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance Report found that one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections that caused common conditions in people worldwide in 2023, were resistant to antibiotic treatments.

Between 2018 and 2023, the report found antibiotic resistance in people rose 40 per cent, or 5 to 15 per cent each year.

Anita Williams, from the Centre for Child Health Research at the University of Western Australia, said the findings were "alarming but not surprising".

"Thankfully, the proportion of resistance in Australian children is lower than global averages," she said.

"Whilst globally 45

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