(Newswire.net — March 28, 2015) — Five out of six Americans are on antibiotics, and 23,000 die annually of drug-resistant infections, stated in the National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant bacteria. According to the plan, Obama’s administration is planning on spending $1.2 billion to combat drug-resistant bacteria, aka ‘superbug’.
“Antibiotic resistance is one of the most pressing public health issues facing the world today. It causes tens of thousands of deaths and millions of illnesses every year – just in the United States alone,” president Obama said in an exclusive interview with WebMD.
“We know that 5 out of 6 Americans are prescribed antibiotics each year. That adds up to 262 million antibiotic prescriptions annually,” president Obama said, adding that studies have consistently shown that a “lot of America’s antibiotic use is unnecessary.”
When asked about the cost of the Plan, Obama said that the budget he proposed “doubles the investments” in competing and preventing the antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Obama told WebMD that some of the funding will go to the Department of Health and Human Services for developing new drugs, and some will go to the Department of Agriculture “to clarify and strengthen the responsible use of antibiotics in livestock.” Obama also said that some of the money would go to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense, “two agencies that deliver health care to many Americans.”
In an interview, President Obama identified the problem of over-prescribing antibiotics as the main cause for antibiotics resistance. He said his plan is to give doctors proper information and guidance by providing real-time data on antibiotic resistance, and by prompting innovation to create diagnostics for the most serious drug-resistant bacteria.
A recent report found that of the 700+ antibiotics in development, very few of them work in a new way, WebMD stated asking Obama about the motivation of the drug companies to be involve.
“Pharmaceutical companies want to know if they spend the time and money to develop new drugs, will those drugs sell. This National Action Plan is a huge market signal,” Obama replied.
“Additionally, my budget includes significant new investments in drug development, both at the National Institutes of Health and at a government agency called the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. Those dollars would go directly to developing new antibiotics. So that will help us in the fight against drug resistance, too,” US President told WebMD.
Obama said that effective antibiotics are vital for national security as they save the lives of the service members wounded in battle, and are “critical defense against bio-terrorism.”
“They [antibiotics] are, quite simply, essential to the health of our people and people everywhere. So we should do everything in our power to ensure that antibiotics remain effective,” Obama concluded.