Our wanderlust may be putting us in harm's way.

The Royal Society's latest report on antimicrobial resistance has found New Zealanders could be more vulnerable because of the amount of the travel we do.

Microbiologist Dr Siouxsie Wiles says these are micro-organisms that have become resistant to the drugs used to treat them.

Dr Wiles told Mike Hosking the problem is made worse by the way we use antibiotics.

"Then there are also others that are essentially bred overseas, and every time we travel, or somebody travels here, we have the opportunity to bring them back.

And then really once they're here, it's just a case of trying to contain them."

Dr Wiles said the organisms can be carried up the noses or in the gut of perfectly healthy people, so we might not know if they're here.

LISTEN ABOVE TO MIKE HOSKING'S CHAT WITH DR SIOUXSIE WILES