Unmet Medical Need in Infectious Diseases

Issue Brief Read time:
Projects: Antibiotic Resistance
Unmet Medical Need in Infectious Diseases

Introduced more than 75 years ago, antibiotics have profoundly transformed health care. Thanks to these drugs and to advances in vaccines and infection control, many formerly devastating bacterial illnesses can be cured or contained. Antibiotics also help make surgery, chemotherapy, and other medical procedures possible by reducing their once prohibitively high risk of infection. However, unlike other drugs, antibiotics gradually lose their effectiveness as bacteria develop resistance.

Downloads Unmet Medical Need in Infectious Diseases
Downloads Unmet Medical Need in Infectious Diseases
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 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
A person holds a box of medication and sits at table in front of a computer during a telemedicine call.

Speeches & Testimony

February 15, 2024 Congress Should Support Telehealth Treatment for Addiction

MORE FROM PEW

A pair of white and black Adélie penguins standing in the middle of a clump of snow face opposite directions. Seeing Antarctic Change, Scientist Calls for Stronger Action
About a dozen people stand examining large blue bins full of whole fish in a warehouse. Some people are in green clothes, others in blue, and all wear ballcaps. A few hold clipboards. Reducing Risk Strengthens the Seafood Supply Chain
A worker in a seafood market dumps bright orange shrimp from a blue bin onto a bed of ice between a lot of other seafood laid out for sale. Other workers are visible in the background, as are the arms of shoppers placing orders from the other side of the ice bed. Seafood Industry Benefits From Greater Vessel Transparency
An aerial view of a vast wetland, with scattered vegetation visible on sandy islands. In Western Australia, a Conservation Model for the World
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.