Dispensary Corner

WE ALWAYS knew they were dirty birds, but a new study by scientists at Perth’s Murdoch University has revealed that Australian seagulls carry alarming levels of antibioticresistant superbugs.

The researchers found that E.coli in the guts of more than a fifth of silver gulls across the country was resistant to common drugs such as cephalosporin and fluoroquinolone, while even more alarmingly some samples were resistant to “last-resort” antibiotics carbapenem and even colistin.

The study, published last week in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, involved examining the droppings of 562 silver gulls in densely populated coastal areas of Australia between 2015 and 2017.

DISNEYLAND is the most magical place on earth, but a dose of reality has brought the theme park giant down to earth after local authorities issued a rabies alert for Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

The Florida Department of Health said a cat with rabies had been found in the area, scratching two Disney staff who were fortunately not infected.

The public are being asked to “maintain a heightened awareness that rabies is active in this area,” with concern the unfortunate feline may have also spread the disease to other species such as dogs, raccoons, bats, foxes, skunks, otters, bobcats and coyotes.