The threat from superbugs
As government and health officials voice growing alarm over the spread of drug-resistant bacteria around the world, a panel of experts on Wednesday recommended steps to address the problem in hospitals, in communities, and across businesses. Experts appearing at the Forum at Harvard School of Public Health recommended a mix of hospital-stewardship programs and community education to fight antibiotic misuse, as well as legal changes that allow pharmaceutical companies to profit longer from new antibiotics to provide economic incentives to develop new drugs. “We’re not coming to the end of the antibiotic era, but we’re in danger of not being able to save lives we should save. We should be able to cure bacterial infections and viruses,” said Stuart Levy, a physician at Tufts University School of Medicine and president of the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics. Levy took part in a forum discussion called “Battling Drug-Resistant Superbugs: Can We Win?”...
