The White House released a massive, five-year plan Friday to combat the severe and deadly threat of “superbugs” — antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
“Fighting antibiotic resistance is a national priority,” Obama administration officials said in a blog post detailing the plan.
The strategy aims to slow the emergence of strains of drug-resistant bacteria by getting doctors to cut down on unnecessary prescribing of antibiotics by half during patient visits and by 20% for people who are hospitalized.
As part of the 63-page plan, scientists will develop a new test that can quickly determine during a doctor visit if an infection is bacterial or viral — and whether antibiotics are appropriate.
The blueprint also calls on farmers to stop using medically important antibiotics to boost the growth of animals — like cows and chickens — that are slaughtered for meat.
The agriculture measures, which require a veterinarian sign-off for antibiotic use within three years, do not go far enough, said U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY).
“With 80% of the antibiotics produced in the United States being used in agriculture mostly for prevention, any meaningful solution to the looming antibiotic resistance crisis must begin with limits on the farm – and trusting a voluntary policy that lets industry police itself will not bring about real change,” she said in a statement.
The plan’s goals also include boosting investment in new drugs to fight these “superbugs” and tools to diagnose resistant strains.
About 23,000 people die each year in the United States due to infections from drug-resistant bacteria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
President Obama nearly doubled the amount of funding for fighting and preventing antibiotic resistance in his 2016 budget, raising it to more than $1.2 billion.
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