Global Leaders, Individuals Must Do More To Prevent Antimicrobial Resistance

Salon: We’re not doing enough to tackle superbugs
William Hall, Anthony McDonnell, and Jim O’Neill, members of the Review of Antimicrobial Resistance and co-authors of “Superbugs: An Arms Race Against Bacteria”

“…[U]nless we take action, antibiotics will continue to become less effective, and our ability to control infectious diseases will diminish. Much more needs to be done. … To beat [antimicrobial resistance (AMR)] we need the support of global leaders. But it will take more than that. … We all need to start doing the simple things better, like washing our hands thoroughly to reduce the chances of infection, and not demanding antibiotics from our physicians. We also need to play a role in raising awareness, explaining the issue to our friends and families, and potentially making choices about the food that we eat depending on the responsible use of antibiotics. Finally, we need to keep the pressure on political leaders not to be complacent and push this issue back as a threat that is already sorted out or can be dealt with later. It is neither. If we do all of this, together we can avoid sleepwalking into a superbug crisis” (4/22).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

KFF Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400
Washington Offices and Barbara Jordan Conference Center: 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone 202-347-5270

www.kff.org | Email Alerts: kff.org/email | facebook.com/KFF | twitter.com/kff

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.