A push for Canterbury's health professionals to be more responsible around the use of antibiotics.

The Canterbury DHB has joined the World Health Organisations drive to fight against the growth of antibiotic resistance.

Canterbury GP Dr Ben Hudson says antibiotic resistant microbes are predicted to kill more than 10 million people worldwide each year by 2050.

He said over-prescribing antibiotics, which is the main cause for the resistance, is done for a number of reasons.

"One of the one hand maybe an expectation that a course of treatment that may not necessarily be required, but I think there's also some evidence that prescribers tend overestimate the extent to which patients want a course of antibiotics."

LISTEN ABOVE AS BEN HUDSON SPEAKS WITH MIKE HOSKING