Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the US

CDC estimates that antibiotics-resistant infections lead to 23.000 deaths a year. The report "Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2013" gives a first-ever snapshot of the burden and threats posed by the antibiotic-resistant germs having the most impact on human health. 

Each year in the United States, at least 2 million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die each year as a direct result of these infections. Many more people die from other conditions that were complicated by an antibiotic-resistant infection.

Antibiotic-resistant infections can happen anywhere. Data show that most happen in the general community; however, most deaths related to antibiotic resistance happen in healthcare settings such as hospitals and nursing homes.

Drug Resistance Is Everywhere

Antimicrobial drug resistance occurs everywhere in the world and is not limited to industrialized nations. Hospitals and other healthcare settings are battling drug-resistant organisms that spread inside these institutions. Drug-resistant infections also spread in the community at large. Examples include drug-resistant pneumonias, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and skin and soft tissue infections.

The Effects of Antimicrobial Drug Resistance Are Far-Reaching

People infected with drug-resistant organisms are more likely to have longer and more expensive hospital stays, and may be more likely to die as a result of the infection. When the drug of choice for treating their infection doesn’t work, they require treatment with second- or third-choice drugs that may be less effective, more toxic, and more expensive. This means that patients with an antimicrobial-resistant infection may suffer more and pay more for treatment.

The loss of effective antibiotic treatments will also undermine treatment of infectious complications in patients with other diseases. Many medical advances—joint replacements, organ transplants, cancer therapy, rheumatoid arthritis therapy – are dependent on the ability to fight infections with antibiotics. If the ability to effectively treat those infections is lost, the ability to safely offer people many of the life-saving and life-improving modern medical advances will be lost with it.

Four Core Actions to Fight Antibiotic Resistance

1.- Preventing Infections, Preventing the Spread of Resistance
2.- Tracking Resistance Patterns
3.- Improving Use of Today’s Antibiotics (Antibiotic Stewardship)
4.- Developing New Antibiotics and Diagnostic Tests

Source:Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC)

Full Report: http://www.cdc.gov