Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

50 ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE & STEWARDSHIP Global antibiotic consumption soared 65% in 16 years By Brian Zimmerman A ntibiotic use increased 65 percent worldwide from 2000 to 2015, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. For the study, researchers analyzed antibi- otic consumption trends for 76 countries documented in a database that uses national sample surveys on antibiotic sales to develop estimates of nationwide antibiotic consump- tion. Overall, annual global antibiotic use increased from 21.1 billion doses in 2000 to 34.8 billion doses in 2015. e rise was largely attributable to surges in consumption rates among low-income and middle-income nations with growing populations. e nations with the most substantial increases in antibiotic consump- tion during the study period included India with a 103 percent increase, China with a 79 percent increase and Pakistan with a 65 percent increase. While Western nations did not see a sharp rise in antibiotic use, they failed to reduce consumption, despite national and international health agencies' calls for antibiotic stewardship during the study period. "With antibiotic consumption increasing worldwide, the challenge posed by antibiotic resistance is likely to get worse," wrote the study's authors. "Radical rethinking of poli- cies to reduce consumption is necessary. … While more study is needed to understand the risks of radical reductions in consump- tion, immediate strategies are necessary to reduce mortality among the millions of people who die from resistant infections annually." Global antibiotic consumption increased by 65 percent between 2000 and 2015, from 21.1 to 34.8 billion DDDs, while the antibi- otic consumption rate increased 39 percent from 11.3 to 15.7 DDDs per 1,000 inhabi- tants per day over the study period. n Antibiotic resistance ups treatment costs by +$1k per infection By Mackenzie Bean A ntibiotic resistance increases the cost of treating a patient with a bacterial infection by more than $1,000, according to a study published in Health Affairs. For the study, researchers from Saint Louis University and Atlanta-based Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health analyzed 2002-14 data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to estimate the cost of treating antibiotic-resistant infections. They found antibiotic resistance added $1,383 to the cost of treating an infection. This figure translates into $2.2 billion in na- tional healthcare costs annually, represent- ing a twofold increase from infection treat- ment costs in 2002, according to the report. "The need for innovative new infection pre- vention programs, antibiotics, and vaccines to prevent and treat antibiotic-resistant infections is an international priority," the researchers concluded. They believe this study provides the first national cost esti- mate for antibiotic-resistant treatment. n WHO warns against 'Disease X' — A deadly pathogen that doesn't exist yet By Alia Paavola T he World Health Organization added "Disease X" to its growing list of potential global disease threats that lack an effective drug or vaccine, according to CNN. Here are four things to know. 1. The list, which was published in a strategy and preparedness plan known as the 2018 R&D Blueprint, outlines viruses the WHO believes could spark a worldwide epidemic. The blueprint helps prioritize research and development, surveillance and diagnostics. 2. Disease X doesn't exist. It is simply a placeholder for an "unexpect- ed" disease and "represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be caused by a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease," according to the WHO. 3. The WHO believes there is a high probability the next big epidemic will come from a completely unexpected source, a pathogen that has yet to reveal itself. "As experience has taught us more often than not the thing that is [go- ing to] hit us is something that we did not anticipate," Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN. "Just the way we didn't anticipate Zika, we didn't think there would be an Ebola that would hit cities." 4. Along with Disease X, the WHO named seven other global disease threats that lack a drug or vaccine, including: Ebola, Zika, Marburg virus disease, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Middle East respira- tory syndrome coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Nipah virus. n

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