A new report has warned that many antibiotics are becoming increasingly less effective in treating 'super bugs' in Ireland, due to the overuse of these drugs.

Experts believe things could get so bad that we may eventually see a return to the 'pre-antibiotic era' before the 1950s, when few effective treatments were available for potentially deadly infections.

The report says while infection rates from perhaps the best-known antibiotic-resitant 'super bug', MRSA, have greatly decreased in Ireland in recent years, we are still among the countries with the highest MRSA levels in Europe.

According to the HSE's Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), the number of MRSA bloodstream infections in Ireland has decreased by 59% between 2006 and 2012.

It says in 2012, MRSA was at its lowest rate in Ireland since surveillance of this type of infection began and HSE initiatives to reduce MRSA in hospitals should be applauded.

However, according to the HPSC, the proportion of MRSA incidence in Ireland is still relatively high compared to other European countries, with Ireland currently ranking 10th out of 28 countries. Our MRSA levels are above the European average, at 18.8%.

Also, according to the HPSC report, while the MRSA decline in Ireland is welcome, the rise in resistance of many antibiotics to other major infections, including E.coli and K.pneumoniae, is a cause for concern.

The report says antibiotic resistance to the potentially deadly bug E faecium (or VRE) is at its highest level in Ireland since surveillance began, and for the past four years Ireland has had 'the ignominious honour' of leading Europe with this particular resistance problem, 'something that merits further investigation'.

The report warns that the rise in antibiotic resistance to many bacteria is a very real threat to human health.

Treatment options for many infections may be considerably limited or lacking in future, the report warns, with the 'worst case scenario' being a return to the 'pre-antibiotic era', when few effective treatment options were available to fight deadly infections.

The report stresses the need for good antibiotic stewardship - in other words, for doctors to be more sparing in the prescription of antibiotics to prevent drug resistance to major infections worsening through overuse.

This problem, the report says, is compounded by the fact that there are very few new antibiotic drug formulations currently in development to replace the older less effective ones.