The advancement of a modern health care system over the last century, from breakthroughs in sanitation to anaesthesia development, have been among the world’s most impressive accomplishments. According to Michaud, Murray and Bloom (2001), the worldwide life expectancy has increased more in the past one hundred years than any other time in recorded history. This gain was greatest in developed nations, and a significant portion of it can be attributed to developments in public health. Michaud et al. (2001) also believe that “the challenge is to maintain and improve life expectancy and the quality of life that was achieved for most of the world's population during the 20th century” (p. 535). A primary obstacle to this goal is the ever-growing
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The CDC (2013) has recommended four core actions to halt the progression of antibiotic resistance: prevention of infection, the development of new drugs, tracking resistant pathogens and encouraging antibiotic stewardship. Preventing infection is a simple first level of defense against this problem. If an individual does not fall ill in the first place, then there is no need for antibiotics. This halts the cyclic progression of antibiotic resistance. The development of new antibiotics is another course of action that must be explored. The amount of resistance in various strains of bacteria will only increase with time. Blaser (2014) suggests that governments create incentives that encourage companies to develop new antibiotics. Tracking resistant bacteria, and how infections respond to a given antibiotic, is another vital step in slowing the advancement of antibiotic resistance. This allows governments to make specific recommendations to health care professionals or pharmaceutical corporations. This ties in closely to improving antibiotic stewardship, which refers to the proper distribution and use of antibiotics. Levy (2001) insists that global inaction in the past regarding antibiotic resistance be corrected. His study emphasizes educating the public about the prudent use of antibiotics and introducing practices which moderate antibiotic use in health care systems and agricultural
The CDC (2013) has recommended four core actions to halt the progression of antibiotic resistance: prevention of infection, the development of new drugs, tracking resistant pathogens and encouraging antibiotic stewardship. Preventing infection is a simple first level of defense against this problem. If an individual does not fall ill in the first place, then there is no need for antibiotics. This halts the cyclic progression of antibiotic resistance. The development of new antibiotics is another course of action that must be explored. The amount of resistance in various strains of bacteria will only increase with time. Blaser (2014) suggests that governments create incentives that encourage companies to develop new antibiotics. Tracking resistant bacteria, and how infections respond to a given antibiotic, is another vital step in slowing the advancement of antibiotic resistance. This allows governments to make specific recommendations to health care professionals or pharmaceutical corporations. This ties in closely to improving antibiotic stewardship, which refers to the proper distribution and use of antibiotics. Levy (2001) insists that global inaction in the past regarding antibiotic resistance be corrected. His study emphasizes educating the public about the prudent use of antibiotics and introducing practices which moderate antibiotic use in health care systems and agricultural