LOUISVILLE, Ky –
Health professionals are concerned about an alarming trend.
Bacteria are growing more and more resistant to antibiotics. It happens when germs like bacteria or fungi develop the ability to defeat the drgus designed to kill them.
Dr. Paul Schulz is an infectious disease specialist at Norton Healthcare.
He doesn’t think the subject is getting enough attention.
“If we’re not careful with the use of antimicrobials, we could be working our way to what some people refer to as the pre-antibiotic era,” he said.
The Centers for Disease Control call antibiotic resistance one of the biggest public health challenges of our time.
Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant germs are difficult, and sometimes, impossible, to treat. In most cases, antibiotic-resistant infections require extended hospital stays, additional follow-up doctor visits, and costly and toxic alternatives.
According to the CDC, 2 million people get an antibiotic-resistant infection in the United States and at least 23,000 people die each year.
“When you’re prescribing for one person, to some degree you are prescribing for the entire population,” Dr. Schulz said. “If we aren’t careful with that, the entire population can be harmed.”
Antibiotic resistance is a national priority.
The U.S. government has taken steps to fight the threat.
Federal agencies work together to:
• Respond to new and outgoing public health threats
• Strengthen detection of resistance
• Enhance efforts to slow the emergence and spread of resistance
• Improve antibiotic use and reporting •
Advance development of rapid diagnostics • Enhance infection control measures
•Accelerate research on new antibiotics and antibiotic alternatives.
The CDC is working towards releasing an updated antibiotic resistance report in the fall of 2019.