Experts Say Access to Antibiotics is a Safety and Equity Challenge for the Next Decade

Writing in a commentary in Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control (2013), Jean Carlet, of the Hôpital St. Joseph in Paris, and Didier Pittet, of the University of Geneva Hospitals in Geneva, emphasize that bacterial resistance to antibiotics is increasing worldwide in healthcare settings and in the community. Some pathogens have become resistant to multiple antibiotics, if not all presently available, thus severely compromising treatment success and contributing to enhanced morbidity, mortality and resource use. The major driver of resistance is misuse of antibiotics in both human and non-human medicine. Both enhanced access and restricted use in many parts of the world is mandatory. The authors say there is an urgent need for an international, integrated, multi-level action to preserve antibiotics in the armamentarium of the 21st century and address the global issue of antimicrobial resistance.

Reference: Carlet J and Pittet D. Access to antibiotics: a safety and equity challenge for the next decadeAntimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control 2013, 2:1 doi:10.1186/2047-2994-2-1