Scientists Warn Of ‘Post-Antibiotic Era’

We’ve known for a while now that antibiotics are being used far too often today. What may seem like a no-brainer is sometimes helping to cultivate strains of super-bacteria that have grown resistant to the drugs meant to kill them. According to a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the situation is worse than we thought. Each year, over 2 million illnesses (which result in 23,000 deaths) are caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fungi, costing billions of dollars more in healthcare and societal costs. As Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, puts it: “If we are not careful, we will soon be in a post-antibiotic era. And for some patients and for some microbes, we are already there.”

It’s a chilling thought that we might soon have more and more bacteria and fungi that we can’t kill, meaning certain infections may become very hard to treat. Be sure to read more on the original report, which goes into some of the nitty gritty details on why you should be cautious about reaching for that antibiotic soap.

Source: Wired