According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about three million people in the United States currently acquire antibiotic-resistant infections each year, causing over 35,000 deaths annually.

Overuse and misuse of antibiotics have contributed to the development of antibiotic resistance. This includes using antibiotics when they are not needed, such as for viral infections like the common cold, and failing to complete a full course of antibiotics as prescribed.

In addition, the use of antibiotics in livestock and agriculture can also contribute to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

One of the most concerning antibiotic-resistant infections is Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a type of bacteria that is resistant to many commonly used antibiotics.

MRSA infections can range from mild skin infections to life-threatening bloodstream infections and are especially common in health care settings.

Another example is carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), which is a group of bacteria that is resistant to some of the strongest antibiotics available.

“Early on, 40 or 50 years ago, as antibiotics started to be used and resistances accumulated, the pharmaceutical drug industry was able to discover, and/or create new antibiotics,” said Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine in the Department of Health Policy, and professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

“So we were able to ‘stay ahead’ of antibiotic resistance because we always had a new antibiotic that we could pull off the proverbial shelf and use,” he continued.

In those early days of drug development, the “easy” antibiotics were discovered, but we’re in a difficult situation now, and advances have slowed.

“So we can’t just research our way out of a problem by creating new antibiotics,” said Schaffner. “Therefore, our options for appropriate therapy become diminished.”

No end in sight.

As Antibiotic-Resistance Threat Grows, Treatment Is Becoming ‘More Complicated’: Expert

Antibiotic resistance is an increasingly significant public health issue in the United States. The problem is rapidly growing and is predicted to kill 10 million people every year by 2050 (pdf).

^{George Citroner (The Epoch Times)}