Yahoo – AFP, 27 March 2015
US
President Barack Obama's new plan aims to cut inappropriate antibiotic use by
50 percent for outpatients, and 20 percent for inpatients (AFP Photo/Fred
Tanneau)
|
Washington
(AFP) - US President Barack Obama on Friday rolled out plans to cut
inappropriate antibiotic use by half, in an effort to tackle drug resistance.
According
to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug-resistant bacteria,
also known as "superbugs," kill 23,000 people a year in the United
States.
"Antibiotic
resistance is one of the most pressing public health issues facing the world
today," Obama told Internet health portal WebMD.
To reduce
the toll, the new plan aims to cut inappropriate antibiotic use by 50 percent
for outpatients, and 20 percent for inpatients.
Measures
include developing diagnostic tests to determine whether an infection is
bacterial or viral.
"Over-prescribing
is a serious problem," Obama said. "We need to give doctors the
information and guidance they need to make the right call in hard
situations."
The plan
would also encourage the development of new antibiotics.
But critics
say measures fail to tackle one major source of antibiotic over use: farming.
"The Obama
Administration needs to do more to reduce antibiotic use in animals that are
not sick," the Natural Resources Defense Council said.
"Our
government should be taking steps to reduce antibiotics to protect our health,
rather than protecting poor industry practices."
The plan
may also hit funding problems. Obama needs Republicans in Congress to back a
budget that pays for the measures.
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