New national strategy for antibiotic resistance

From the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa to the race to find a catch-all cure to cancer to the eminent flu season at Hopkins, public health issues are consistently at the forefront of the national dialogue.

The White House has recently added to that dialogue with the announcement of the “National Strategy for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria,” a plan to fight growing antibiotic resistance and as a result, promote and protect public health. The National Strategy aims to utilize local and international resources to combat the rise of bacteria that have developed resistances to the antibiotics that we regularly use to treat infections.

The plan has five overarching goals: prevent and contain outbreaks of resistant pathogens when they arise; implement an approach called “One Health” that will integrate various public health, veterinary and food surveillance methods to more efficiently detect resistant pathogens; develop rapid, innovative diagnostic tests; invest in the development of new antibiotics, vaccines and other treatment methods; and improve international coordination and collaboration to mobilize against resistant bacteria that pose a threat the population.   

One of the major focuses of the action plan is the opportunity for healthcare providers to create a quick-acting diagnostic test that can accurately identify resistant bacterial infections. If the thought of having the bragging rights for a potentially life-changing scientific discovery isn’t enticing enough, the White House has added an incentive: a

spread further. Bacteria can evolve to become resistant to antibodies that are used to combat them, so the sooner resistant strains are detected, the sooner scientists can employ other methods to treat them.

To control antibiotic resistant infections, the administration has established the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), composed of various experts in fields that range from commercial industries to educational institutions.

The council has produced concrete steps that the administration can take to achieve some of their goals, including establishing a strong federal leadership to coordinate and oversee combative efforts and surveying the response of antibiotic resistance through state and local public health infrastructure as well as through genome analysis. PCAST has also adopted an approach that focuses on efforts to create alternative classes of antibiotics for use in agriculture.

PCAST has requested research funding of $150 million over seven years to support these goals.

U.S. President Barack Obama has directed the Task Force for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, chaired by the Secretaries of Defense, Agriculture and Health and Human Services, with the responsibility of following through with the ideas discussed.

“In the fight against microbes, no permanent victory is possible: As new treatments are developed, organisms will evolve new ways to become resistant,” John Holdren and Eric Lander, the co-chairs of PCAST, wrote in a report to President Obama. The plan sets national targets for reducing serious and urgent threats by 2020.