I am back on the ID consult service so it is bound to be a busy week. As I was perusing the NY Times yesterday, I came across this editorial on the rise of antibiotic resistance. The opinion piece highlights the looming crisis in antimicrobial resistance. Noted are the following points:
- Antibiotics are overused, not only by physicians but also in agriculture
- Carbapenem resistance is on the growth- a harbinger of significant resistance across various antibiotic classes
- There is little financial incentive for pharmaceutical companies to develop and market new antibiotic classes
A more detailed report on antibiotic resistance by the World Health Organization can be found here.
I do not mean to sound alarmist but the emergence of antibiotic resistance is the public health threat of the times.
