Antibiotics have prevented and cured deadly human diseases for 80 years. But the time is coming when we might have to live without them -- if we can. The United Nations says it's finally time to take seriously the warning that overuse in human beings and farm animals is not just counter-productive. It's allowing bacteria to develop resistance, so that common conditions like tuberculosis, gonorrhea and urinary infections might well become fatal again. And pharmaceutical companies are not stepping up with new research that could lead to development of new drugs. After years of warnings, it's a global problem that demands solutions — while there's still time.
Superbugs are defeating antibiotics
More
- UN's high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance
- Forum on sustainable access to effective antibiotics
- CDDEP on FAO plan to reduce antimicrobial use in agriculture
- Laxminarayan on achieving global targets for antimicrobial resistance
- Maron on the superbug explosion that's triggered UN meeting
- NRDC on how top restaurants rate on reducing use of antibiotics in their meat supply
Credits
Guests:
- Ramanan Laxminarayan - Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy / Princeton University - @CDDEP
- Dina Fine Maron - Scientific American - @dina_maron
- Dr. Brad Spellberg - Chief Medical Officer at the LA County + USC Medical Center - @BradSpellberg
- David Wallinga - Natural Resources Defense Council - @Food_Dr