On today's Your Call, we’ll talk about our reliance on antibiotics.
For decades now, we have relied on antibiotics to fight everything from minor to major infections. But our overuse of antibiotics in medicine and factory farming are creating antibiotic resistant bacteria. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 2 million people a year get sick from antibiotic resistant bacteria and 23,000 die. They say this is a serious threat to public health. Why aren’t antibiotics working as effectively any more? What are the solutions?
Guests:
Dr. Mike Bell, Deputy Director, CDC Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion
Patty Lovera, Assistant Director, Food & Water Watch
Resources:
Center for Disease Control (CDC): Antibiotic / Antimicrobial Resistance
Food and Water Watch: Celebrities Call for Action to Stop Abuse of Antibiotics on Factory Farms
Wired Science Blogs: Super Bug
World Health Organization (report): Antimicrobial resistance: global report on surveillance 2014
CDC (report): Antibiotic Resistance Threat in the United States 2013
PBS Frontline (2013): Dr. Arjun Srinivasan: We’ve Reached “The End of Antibiotics, Period”