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Issue Brief
Unmet Medical Need in Infectious Diseases
Introduced more than 75 years ago, antibiotics have profoundly transformed health care. Thanks to these drugs and to advances in vaccines and infection control, many formerly devastating bacterial illnesses can be cured or contained. Antibiotics also help make surgery, chemotherapy, and other medical procedures possible by reducing their once prohibitively high risk of infection. However, unlike other drugs, antibiotics gradually lose their effectiveness as bacteria develop resistance.
As multidrug-resistant infections have grown more prevalent, few new antibiotics are reaching the market. This is attributed, in part, to the economic and regulatory challenges associated with their development. Recently, stakeholders have endorsed a novel regulatory pathway to approve these lifesaving drugs for use in limited patient populations — namely those at highest risk and with few or no other options.
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"As a nation, we need to exercise greater care with our use of antibiotics, in both humans and animals, so that these medications remain effective in treating serious bacterial infections."
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This year's celebration of National Public Health Week (NPHW) focuses on the theme, "Public Health is ROI: Save Lives, Save Money." Join us in recognizing the work of Pew's Health Initiatives.
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"And a new survey out today from the Pew Charitable Trusts and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows 79% of adults know they can harm their own health by taking unneeded antibiotics."
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''Americans are not as smart about antibiotics and antibiotic resistance as they should be, a new poll shows. For instance, although almost 90 percent of Americans know that antibiotics are effective for treating bacterial infections, more than a third also erroneously believed the drugs can fight viral infections such as the common cold or the flu."
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