title: Antibiotic resistance: consequences of inaction.
abstract: Bacterial resistance presents therapeutic dilemmas to clinicians worldwide. The warnings were there long ago, but too few people heeded them. Thus an emerging problem has grown to a crisis. Resistance is an ecological phenomenon stemming from the response of bacteria to the widespread use of antibiotics and their presence in the environment. While determining the consequences of inaction on the present and future public health, we must work to remedy the lack of action in the past. By improving antibiotic use and decreasing resistance gene frequency at the local levels, we can move towards reversing the resistance problem globally.
authors.affiliation: Center for Adaptation Genetics and Drug Resistance, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111, USA. stuart.levy@tufts.edu
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Levy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004335:Drug and Narcotic Control / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000639:trends; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D007880:Legislation, Drug
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents