Antibiotic Use could Cause Global Health Crisis

(Ivanhoe Newswire) – Overuse of antibiotics on trees, plants, and animals, are creating a public health crisis, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Resistant strands of bacteria have evolved over time in response to the overuse of these antibiotics in agriculture and aquaculture. Eighty percent of antibiotics used in the United States is used on agriculture and aquaculture. These resistant strands have the ability to create a global health crisis if not addressed. The authors of the report say charging user fees on non-human use antibiotics could be a possible solution.

"The real value of antibiotics is saving people from dying. Everything else is trivial,” lead author Aidan Hollis was quoted as saying. "This is incredibly important. Without effective antibiotics, any surgery – even minor ones – will become extremely risky. Ordinary infections will kill otherwise healthy people."

For more information, go to: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1311479

SOURCE: New England Journal of Medicine, December 2013