Antibiotic Resistance: A Human Health Perspective

The last century saw history’s most dramatic improvements in medical care and health, fueled to a great degree by the development and widespread use of antibiotics. However, in the conflict between bacterial evolution and human ingenuity, many reports suggest that in this century, the bacteria seem to have gained the advantage. Maintaining our dominance over bacterial infections will require more than just the application of scientific advances in fields like microbiology, bacterial and human genomics, biochemistry and information technology. We will need the broadest societal engagement and an acceptance of the need both to rethink how antibiotics are used and to create effective global partnerships since drug-resistant bacteria have no respect for national boundaries. No simple or magical solutions exist, and the necessary changes in beliefs, attitudes and practices can only be achieved with sustained effort and open, transparent communication.