Module 2 Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the US

Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the U.S.
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Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the U.S.
The executive summary of the article “Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the U.S.” published by the Center for Disease Control on April 9, 2018, provides a snapshot of an entire report detailing the prevalence of antibiotic resistance and its potential threat to lives in the United States. Apart from raising questions on the usability some antibiotic drugs to control bacteria, the information in this part of the report reveals bad news to the entire American society. According to the Center for Disease Control (2018), at least 2 million people contract antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the United States every year. Of these population, not less than 23, 000 people pass on every year due to bacterial infections.
This data is undoubtedly true. Over the years, researchers, as well as scholars in medical fields, have been suspicious of antibiotic resistance as one of the possible treatment challenges of bacterial diseases. In 2015, for instance, Lee Ventola, one of the National Center for Biotechnology researchers, released an article titled “The Antibiotic Resistance Crisis.” In this article, Ventola (2015) attributes the rise in antibiotic resistance to the misuse and overuse of antibiotic drugs, as well as the laxity of the pharmaceutical industry to develop new drugs. Challenging regulatory requirements together with the reduced economic incentives make the pharmaceutical industry ineffective, especially in new drug development.

Given these facts, just as CDC confirms, antimicrobial (or antibiotic) resistance will continue being a major threat to the U.S. population unless some drastic actions are taken. The public should be educated and restricted to take antibiotics only under a qualified doctor’s prescription to reduce the misuse and overuse of antibiotics. The government should also empower the pharmaceutical industry to develop new drugs to control the prevalence of bacteria that are already resistant to antibiotics.
References
Center for Disease Control. (2018, April 09). Antibiotic / Antimicrobial Resistance. Retrieved August 21, 2018, from https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/threat-report-2013/index.htmlVentola, C. L. (2015). The Antibiotic Resistance Crisis: Part 1: Causes and Threats. Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 40(4), 277–283.