title: An overview of antimicrobial resistance and its public health significance.
abstract: Multiple papers have been published regarding the bacterial resistance theme over the last years. A variety of information has reached general and scientific public, daily bringing up data on new resistant microorganisms, new drugs, outbreaks, epidemiological news, resistance gene dissemination, and the lack of information in a particular field has caught our attention: the public health department. Most of researchers, physicians and government employees interpret the public health field as a separate department, not linked to this antibiotic resistance era that we are living nowadays. In this paper we carefully tried to fill in the blanks between public health and the bacteria resistance issue, also considering historical, social, economical and biological problematic that come with this possible pre-antibiotic era.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Saúde Pública Faculdade de Saúde Pública Universidade de São Paulo São PauloSP Brazil.
authors.forename: Livia Carminato
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Balsalobre
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Saúde Pública Faculdade de Saúde Pública Universidade de São Paulo São PauloSP Brazil.
authors.forename: Milena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dropa
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Saúde Pública Faculdade de Saúde Pública Universidade de São Paulo São PauloSP Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Helena
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Matté
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: antimicrobial resistance; pre-antibiotic era; public health