Antibiotics save untold numbers of human lives every day. Modern medicine depends on their ability to treat and prevent infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, and staph. Yet drug-resistant bacteria are spreading in the nation’s communities and too often antibiotics are taken for granted. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that tens of thousands of Americans die each year from infections, and many of those deaths are associated with bacteria that are resistant to treatment by one or more of these drugs. In the past few years, so-called “superbugs” have emerged that cause an even greater public health concern.
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On August 22, researchers at the National Institute of Health released a scientific paper detailing the use of advanced genetic technology to trace a deadly infection, untreatable by nearly every antibiotic, that spread through the NIH’s Clinical Center last year.
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Issue Brief
Staphylococcus aureus, or staph, is a common bacterium that exists in our environment and our bodies. Most of the time it does no harm. Sometimes, however, it can cause infection and require treatment. MRSA refers to strains of S. aureus that are resistant to the antibiotic methicillin and a host of other drugs used to treat infection.
Full StoryThe lack of new antibiotics and the rise in drug resistance have rendered some serious and life-threatening infections untreatable, and the health care community is searching for ways to bring innovative new drugs to patients whose treatment options are limited or nonexistent.
Antibiotics save untold numbers of human lives every day. Modern medicine depends on their ability to treat and prevent infections such as pneumonia and staph. Yet drug-resistant bacteria are spreading and too often antibiotics are taken for granted. Test your knowledge.
Allan Coukell
Senior Director, Drugs and Medical Devices
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Nicole Mahoney
Senior Officer, Antibiotics and Innovation
The Pew Charitable Trusts
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