Antibiotic Resistance: A Growing Threat to Public Health
November 18-24 is U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week
11/18/2024
Kelly Zander, System Antimicrobial Stewardship Coordinator
Every
year, over 2.8 million people in the U.S. contract infections due to antibiotic
resistance, resulting in more than 35,000 deaths. During U.S. Antibiotic
Awareness Week, Aspirus Health is drawing attention to the escalating crisis of
antibiotic resistance — a global public health threat that is putting the
effectiveness of antibiotics at risk and making infections harder to treat.
Kelly Zander, System
Antimicrobial Stewardship Coordinator at Aspirus Health, explains,
"Antibiotic resistance is considered an urgent global public health threat
that is consistently getting worse by the day. We’re constantly learning about
new infections that are becoming harder and harder to treat, and the drugs that
we do have aren't working anymore." This growing issue is felt across
communities nationwide, and Zander notes that even in the Aspirus Health
service area, “we do see these patterns emerging.”
A major cause of
antibiotic resistance is the misuse of antibiotics, including taking them for
illnesses like the common cold or flu, where they are ineffective.
Additionally, failing to complete prescribed antibiotic courses contributes to
the survival of resistant bacteria. The overuse of antibiotics in agriculture
also compounds the problem.
To protect the power
of antibiotics, Zander urges people to adopt simple yet effective preventive
measures.
"Good hand
hygiene, staying healthy through diet and exercise, and allowing your body time
to heal naturally when you're sick can all help minimize unnecessary exposure
to antibiotics," she says.
As U.S. Antibiotic
Awareness Week reminds us, we all have a role in reducing antibiotic
resistance. Zander stresses, “The antibiotics that we do have are powerful
drugs that we need to use responsibly. We all need to be aware and know that we
can play a part in this.”
Aspirus Health
encourages the public to learn more about antibiotic resistance and how we can
all help preserve the effectiveness of these life-saving medications.
For more information
on antibiotic awareness, visit https://www.cdc.gov.
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