WHO creates controversial ‘reserve’ list of antibiotics for superbug threats
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
The World Health Organization on Tuesday released new recommendations aimed at reducing the use of certain categories of “last resort” antibiotics as part of its ongoing efforts to combat the rise of superbugs.
Public health officials pointed to the increasing rate of new strains of pathogens that are becoming antibiotic-resistant, saying these “nightmare bacteria” pose a catastrophic threat. Overuse of antibiotics in livestock as well as in humans is the main cause.
Such resistance has created a world in which even the most minor of infections and illnesses can quickly turn deadly and in which diseases once thought conquered, such as tuberculosis and gonorrhea, are becoming untreatable in more and more cases.
Source: Washington Post (link opens in a new window)
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