Antimicrobial resistance--should we be concerned?
Simply stated, the use of antibiotics is the root cause of antimicrobial resistance. Without antibiotic use, there would be no widespread selection of antibiotic resistant bacteria and, thus, no antimicrobial resistance. So if the problem is as simple as stopping the use of antibiotics, or even restricting the use of antibiotics, what is the fuss about? How about adding perhaps the potential for an additional 3-6 million deaths or more annually worldwide to the 1.3 million deaths from Mycobacterium tuberculosis alone? So concerning the matter of antimicrobial resistance- should we be concerned? Absolutely, yes.
Barrett
J F
JF
D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans