WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House on Friday announced a five-year plan to fight the threat posed by antibiotic-resistant bacteria amid fears that once-treatable germs could become deadly.
Repeated exposure to antibiotics can lead germs to become resistant to the drugs, so that they are no longer effective. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that drug-resistant bacteria cause 23,000 deaths and 2 million illnesses each year in the United States.
The World Health Organization said last year that bacteria resistant to antibiotics have spread to every part of the world and might lead to a future where minor infections like strep throat could kill. Antibiotic resistance also threatens animal health, agriculture and the economy.
President Barack Obama, who ordered the plan, said drug-resistant bacteria are one of the most serious public health issues.
“This is one of those problems that doesn’t always rise to the top of people’s day-to-day concerns until somebody in the family is impacted,” Obama told reporters before meeting privately Friday with his members of his advisory council on science and technology. “We take antibiotics for granted for a lot of illnesses that can be deadly or debilitating.”