Recap: Hill Briefing on Antibiotic Resistance

CDC Acting Director Talks Antibiotic Resistance on the Hill

On Tuesday, CDC’s acting director, Anne Schuchat, MD (RADM, USPHS), presented at the U.S. Capitol about the need for continued action and investment to contain and address the urgent threat of antibiotic resistance to protect Americans.

Dr. Schuchat and experts from IDSA, NIH, DoD, and BARDA* reminded attendees that antibiotic resistance—when germs no longer respond to the drugs designed to kill them—threatens every person and our access to modern medicine like cancer care and surgery. Patients like Brianna Strand, who shared her personal story at the event, need antibiotics that work to continue receiving life-saving treatments. Brianna has cystic fibrosis and relies on antibiotics every day to keep her tough to treat lung infections under control.

With the emergence of new threats, like Candida auris and mcr-1, combating antibiotic resistance remains a CDC priority. CDC and its partners are committed to continuing the fight against antibiotic resistance through the AR Solutions Initiative and our strategy to rapidly detect, contain, and prevent these infections. Working together we can stand up a full, faster response to protect Americans from this threat.

The Hill Briefing event was hosted by IDSA, in collaboration with the U.S. Stakeholder Forum on Antimicrobial Resistance (S-FAR). IDSA, with support from several S-FAR member organizations, also released Faces of Antimicrobial Resistance—the important and personal stories of patients and their families who battle the threat of antibiotic resistance every day.

TAKE ACTION

Share a message…

• @CDCgov is leading the public health fight against #AntibioticResistance. Detect-Contain-Prevent must be our focus to protect patients.
• #AntibioticResistance threatens U.S. patients & modern medicine. We must work together to rapidly detect, contain, & prevent this threat.
   

…or make your own!

Tell @CDCgov why continuing the fight against antibiotic resistance is important to you and your community. Use the hashtag #AntibioticResistance.
 

LEARN MORE

• AR Investment Map: How CDC is working in your state and community
• New Threat: Tracking C. auris
• New Threat: Tracking mcr-1
• About Antibiotic Resistance 

*IDSA: Infectious Diseases Society of America; NIH: National Institutes of Health; DoD: Department of Defense; BARDA: Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.