CDC Investments Keep Antibiotic Resistance in Check Throughout U.S.

The recent release of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s 2018 Antibiotic Resistance Investment Map highlights a vital link in protecting the health and safety of people throughout the U.S. and around the world, according to the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). The updated tool provides details about more than $240 million in state and local activities supported through CDC’s AR Solutions Initiative. 

“Since the work to fight antibiotic resistance has to be done at the local level, this funding from the CDC is critical to public safety,” said Hilary Babcock, MD, MPH, president of SHEA. “State and local investments also encourage innovation and discovery in infection prevention by supporting collaboration between the CDC and researchers at hospitals and universities throughout the country.”

Antibiotic resistance occurs when germs do not respond to the drugs designed to kill them, causing infections that are difficult to treat and may be hard to contain. Each year in the United States, at least 2 million people get an antibiotic-resistant infection, and at least 23,000 people die from these bacteria that are not treatable with known antibiotics. The map released today shows how resources are distributed throughout the country by region and state to support efforts to prevent, identify, and contain the spread of antibiotic resistance and healthcare-associated infections

The 11 Prevention Epicenters encompass over 254 healthcare facilities, 3 million admissions to hospitals and 17 million days in the hospital to advance emerging science in infection prevention and control and create new strategies for preventing and stopping the spread of infectious outbreaks in the U.S. and internationally. In Fiscal Year 2018 alone, CDC invested $7.5 million in the Epicenters, helping to advance strategies to improve healthcare quality and patient safety.

“Strong federal investments stemming from CDC are necessary to keeping antibiotic resistance in check at the local and state level and allow the U.S. to continue as a global leader in efforts to prevent, identify, and contain these dangerous bacteria,” said Babcock. 

Source: Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)