The Strategies to Address Antibiotic Resistance (STAAR) Act was reintroduced to the Senate this week, raising the issue of what to do in the face of growing antibiotic resistance.
The legislation was introduced by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in an attempt to increase data collection, monitoring, prevention, control, and research efforts. It would do so through reauthorizations and recommendations in existing agencies like the Interagency Antimicrobial Resistance Task Force and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, grant incentives for healthcare facilities and the expansion of public health partnerships. Further, the legislation would require annual reports to Congress on the progress of implementing these efforts.
“Antibiotics do a world of good for Ohioans fighting infections and illness, but now antibiotics are becoming less effective, putting people at risk from dangerous infections that can’t be cured,” Brown said. “We should address this growing crisis head on, both to stop the spread of deadly superbugs and to preserve antibiotics as a tool to fight disease.”
The CDC reported that more than 2 million Americans are affected by antibiotic resistance each year and around 23,000 are killed by it.
The reasons for this are a mix of evolution in bacteria themselves, as well as misuse or overuse of antibiotics used to fight them. As stronger drugs are, in turn, used to combat the growing threat, the resistance grows still further, and the number of effective antibiotics on the market continues to drop.