Click here to return to category. English-language articles were selected based on ability to provide information on relevant strategies to prevent and control antibiotic resistance in the United States and globally.
Antibiotic resistance continues to be a major public health concern.
Resistance in bacteria is due to complicated interactions that involve not only the microbe but also the environment, the patient, and the physician. New data concerning the impact of transposons and integrons on antibiotic resistance support the need for new prevention and control strategies that rely on a multidisciplinary education base with a cooperative approach to management of antibiotic resistance. Previous AMA actions to combat antibiotic resistance include the publication of AMA recommendations as part of the World Medical Association's statement on antibiotic resistance, the publication of a JAMA Patient Page on antibiotic resistance, and a Science Reporters Conference highlighting antibiotic resistance as a media issue. Ultimately, antibiotic resistance must be controlled through judicious use of antibiotics by health care practitioners. The AMA should continue to encourage the federal government, the World Health Organization, the World Medical Association, and the International Federation of Pharmacists to promote more effective education on the appropriate use of antibiotics.