WASHINGTON — President Obama on Thursday ordered the government to create a national plan to fight antibiotic-resistant germs by early 2015. ‘‘This is an urgent health threat and a threat to our economic stability as well,’’ said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as he joined two of Obama’s scientific advisers to announce the steps.
The world is already facing a situation where once-treatable germs can kill. Repeated exposure to antibiotics can make germs resistant to the drugs so that they are no longer effective.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, antibiotic-resistant infections are linked to 23,000 deaths and 2 million illnesses in the United States annually. The impact to the US economy is as high as $20 billion, the White House said, or more, if you count lost productivity from those who are sickened. And the problem is worsening.
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