The Lancet: Antibiotic Resistance: A Final Warning

Opinion Read time:
Projects: Antibiotic Resistance
The Lancet: Antibiotic Resistance: A Final Warning

"On Sept 16, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its report Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2013—their first ever reporton this subject. From the outset the tone is clear: in his foreword, Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, states that "antimicrobial resistance is one of our most serious health threats. Infections from resistant bacteria are now too common." The stated aim of this report is to increase awareness of the threat resistance poses and to encourage immediat e action to address this threat.

To put the problem of resistance into perspective the report presents some sobering statistics. The CDC estimates that antibiotic-resistant organisms are the cause of infections in more than 2 million people each year in the USA. Of these people, more than 23 000 die as a consequence of their infections. The CDC stresses that these are conservative estimates and so the true numbers are probably much higher."

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
RELATED
Topics
Antibiotics
Projects
Antibiotic Resistance

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

A child reads a hardcover book at Maternity Care Coalition’s Early Head Start child care and early education center in South Philadelphia. In the background, a few other children and an adult sit nearby.

Press Releases & Statements

March 21, 2024 Pew Awards $8M to Address Health & Education in Philadelphia
A bright blue T-cell infected by HIV is engulfed by hundreds of yellow virions.

Article

March 14, 2024 Pew Researcher Seeks to Crack Code on HIV Cure
A person in a lab coat and red pants looks back at other staff members in a hospital hallway lined with medical equipment.

Article

March 12, 2024 Few Hospitals Use Recommended Suicide Care Practices

MORE FROM PEW

A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference. Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
A large group of people in formal or traditional attire stands together on a stage, with a digital background depicting marine life and the large text “WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.” WTO Needs to Redouble Its Effort on Fishing Subsidies
A man in a winter hat and sunglasses kneels on a rocky shoreline in front of a campfire, holding a metal mug with gloved hands. Behind him, in the water, a motorboat is moored to the shore. Cliffs rise on both sides of the water. Why Newfoundland’s South Coast Fjords Are Sacred
An illustration of a couple holding hands walking away from an outline of houses behind them Pathways to Homeownership: Housing in America
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View
Pills illustration

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.