Imagine a world where routine surgery or chemotherapy is considered too dangerous because there are no drugs to prevent or treat bacterial infections. Unless researchers develop new antibiotics and therapeutics, the decimation of modern medicine will soon become a reality. Scientists have long recognized that much stronger incentives for research and development are needed to avoid this scenario. Yet, the rise of “superbugs” has continued, making a pandemic of antibiotic resistance a major threat to global health.
One could blame slowed action against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) on an upstaging by COVID-19. Health and industry sectors deferred prepandemic AMR work to focus on tracking and preventing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission. Worldwide, scientists pivoted toward SARS-CoV-2 research. This “all hands on deck” response was prudent but likely affected the already lagging progress on battling AMR. What about efforts before COVID-
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While the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, another public health threat is worsening: antibiotic resistance.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conservatively estimates that at least 2.8 million Americans acquire serious infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria or superbugs each year, with 35,000 of people dying. That equates to a death every 15 minutes. Experts are concerned that widespread use of antibiotics during the pandemic is making things worse.
COVID-19 patients who have weakened immune systems and may be on ventilators, and are therefore at risk for secondary bacterial infections, need antibiotics. But these life-saving drugs are also critical for patients fighting cancer, receiving dialysis, undergoing surgery and requiring countless other medical treatments and procedures. Indeed, antibiotics underlie many of the medical procedures and treatments we take for granted today. The paradox is that all use of antibiotics contributes to the emergence