Health & Medicine
Antibiotic Resistance may be the 'Next Pandemic': CDC
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Jul 23, 2014 12:16 PM EDT
Could antibiotic resistance be the next pandemic?
According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Thomas Frieden, officials should take action now to prevent this potentially debilitating issue.
"The thing that we are most at risk for is not the thing that we don't know but something that's hiding in plain sight. Something that could kill any of us, something that could undermine our ability to practice modern medicine, something that could devastate our economy, and something that could sicken or kill millions," Freden said Tuesday, according to Ria Novosti.
Antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria are particularly dangerous as they will not respond to traditional types of antibiotics. Without treatments, in fact, survival rates among patients can drastically dip. Findings revealed that every year alone, close to 23,000 Americans die due to infections from antibiotic resistant strains.
"Anti-microbial resistance has the potential to harm or kill anyone in the country, undermine modern medicine, to devastate our economy and to make our health care system less stable," Frieden said, via USA Today. "We always want to be part of the solution, but sometimes in health we're part of the problem."
Frieden added that many medical professionals over-prescribe antibiotics, which may have resulted in the development of some antibiotic strains.
"We've done a study that says about a third of all antibiotics used in this country are either unnecessary or inappropriate," Frieden said.
In the hopes of helping this issue, the CDC will be launching a new program that will allow hospitals to monitor all of the antibiotics dispensed. Furthermore, officials are pushing for hospitals to prevent drug resistance by incorporation of an "antibiotic stewardship program," that could help track how antibiotics are being used.
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First Posted: Jul 23, 2014 12:16 PM EDT
Could antibiotic resistance be the next pandemic?
According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Thomas Frieden, officials should take action now to prevent this potentially debilitating issue.
"The thing that we are most at risk for is not the thing that we don't know but something that's hiding in plain sight. Something that could kill any of us, something that could undermine our ability to practice modern medicine, something that could devastate our economy, and something that could sicken or kill millions," Freden said Tuesday, according to Ria Novosti.
Antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria are particularly dangerous as they will not respond to traditional types of antibiotics. Without treatments, in fact, survival rates among patients can drastically dip. Findings revealed that every year alone, close to 23,000 Americans die due to infections from antibiotic resistant strains.
"Anti-microbial resistance has the potential to harm or kill anyone in the country, undermine modern medicine, to devastate our economy and to make our health care system less stable," Frieden said, via USA Today. "We always want to be part of the solution, but sometimes in health we're part of the problem."
Frieden added that many medical professionals over-prescribe antibiotics, which may have resulted in the development of some antibiotic strains.
"We've done a study that says about a third of all antibiotics used in this country are either unnecessary or inappropriate," Frieden said.
In the hopes of helping this issue, the CDC will be launching a new program that will allow hospitals to monitor all of the antibiotics dispensed. Furthermore, officials are pushing for hospitals to prevent drug resistance by incorporation of an "antibiotic stewardship program," that could help track how antibiotics are being used.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone