US Government seeks to prevent overuse of drugs and encourage development of new treatments for infection.
White House takes aim at antibiotic resistance
US President Barack Obama ordered new steps on 18 September to combat the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
It is a deadly problem: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Disease, the antibiotic-resistant infections kill at least 23,000 people become ill and 2 million each year.
A national strategy issued by the White House outlined a series of measures to address the declining effectiveness of antibiotics; many are similar to those identified by the World Health Organization in April. These include monitoring systems to track the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections in health centers and agriculture, financial and regulatory incentives for researchers and pharmaceutical companies to develop new antibiotics, and to develop methods for rapid diagnosis of infections resistant to antibiotics.
A decree signed by Obama orders a new government task force to develop a plan next year to implement the strategy.
The White House also announced a contest co-sponsored by the Canadian Institutes of Health National Authority United States and biomedical research and advanced development, which will award $ 20 million to develop a rapid test to identify infections resistant to antibiotics.
John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said that resistance to antibiotics is not only a health issue but a national security issue. "What we see in the possibility of infections that have no remaining potential antibiotic is rampant spread of infection ... which could undermine social stability," he said. "We see the potential for a large increase in costs to the economy, which would reduce the country's ability to respond to other threats."
The White House action comes along with the publication of a long-awaited report on the antibiotic resistance of the Board of Advisors to the President for Science and Technology (PCAST). Analysis suggests PCAST spend $ 900 million this year for pathogens of national surveillance systems - double its current level - and the development of infrastructure to accelerate clinical trials of new antibiotics. The report also recommends that funding of basic research in the spread of antibiotic resistance and alternatives for farmers who use antibiotics to promote livestock growth.
PCAST also suggests that the government requires hospitals to adopt a program of antibiotics if they wish to continue receiving reimbursement from Medicare, a program that provides health insurance for people over 65, according to a recent CDC report, to 50% of antibiotic use in hospitals is unnecessary.
But some experts say the PCAST report does not give enough attention to the use of antibiotics in agriculture, which contributes to the spread of resistant bacteria.
In December 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued voluntary guidelines asking companies to change the labels of your medications to be marketed to fatten livestock, and require the intervention of a veterinarian to prescribe these drugs. PCAST said that the guidelines were approved by the 26 leading manufacturers of antibiotics to farm animals.
The PCAST report suggests that the FDA will continue to monitor such measures lead to a reduction in antibiotic use and the degree to which agricultural use contributes to resistance. But it has some details on how exactly this would work or monitoring tests lead to higher standards, said Mae Wu, an attorney with the Natural Health Resources Defense Council in Washington DC.
"It's a little too passive," he said. "How long must we wait for stronger measures to reduce the amount of use of antibiotics on farms is taken?" She said the report does not do enough to combat the widespread use of antibiotics to prevent disease rather than treat a disease known.
No Comment to " US Government seeks to prevent overuse of drugs and encourage development of new treatments for infection. "