We are losing the defenses that protect us from microbes. Global antibiotic resistance, the result of overuse in clinical medicine and agriculture, is growing. But progress is possible with evidence-based interventions, incentive shifts, and smarter regulation.
In a new op-ed for Financial Times, Dr. Tom Frieden, President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, discusses the rise of superbugs and how we can outsmart them. He notes that the same failures that have lowered our microbial defenses have also driven the rise of deadly health threats such as heart disease and illness from toxic exposures.
According to Dr. Frieden, strategies to stop the superbug crisis illustrate a broader approach to health progress — a see/believe/create formula: see hidden threats clearly, believe that improvement is possible, and create systems that work. Now is the time to build a healthier system that can stop superbugs and save lives across the globe.