Obama Plans To Fight Antibiotic-Resistant Germs
President Barrack Obama urged the Congress to strengthen plans in fighting antibiotic-resistant germs said to have caused two million illnesses and 23,000 deaths per year as announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to CNN, Obama's five-year national action plan to fight 'superbugs' is projected to cost around $2.1 billion. Such amount which is part of the President's 2015 budget is still to be approved by the Congress.
This 'one-health' approach basically aims for research for new antibiotics and vaccines in tracking down superbugs and establishing a DNA database recording types of resistant bacteria.
The plan calls for creating a "one-health" primarily aims to reduce the instances of using antibiotics and prevent the growth of superbugs. Further, it aims to test and report superbugs around the country, as well as establishing a DNA database of resistant bacteria.
The establishment of the DNA database for animals is not just focus on the US but for a global scale.
"We take antibiotics for granted for a lot of illnesses that can be deadly and debilitating. Part of the solution is not just finding replacements for traditional antibiotics, but also making sure we use antibiotics properly," Obama said in a report from New York Daily News.
According to My Way, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced last year that antibiotic-resistant bacteria has bugged a lot of countries it is foreseen that in the future minor infections among animals, plants and humans might lead to serious illnesses and even death.
Studies have consistently shown that a lot of America's antibiotic use is unnecessary. If we can see where these drugs are being over-prescribed, we can target our interventions where they're needed most," he said.
