In addition, half of all antibiotics are produced for animal use, mainly to increase the growth of livestock and poultry. The resistant microbes they create can spread to humans. Even the effectiveness of vancomycin, the last line of defense in American hospitals against staph infections, could be imperiled because a vancomycin derivative is fed to animals in Europe. Around the world, doctors are finding that diseases that were once easily cured are now stronger than their medicines. Thailand can no longer use the three most common anti-malarial drugs.
Gonorrhea is once again life-threatening in Southeast Asia.
The most urgent need is more research into new antimicrobial drugs, which flagged until the mid-1990's because of complacency and because they were not considered as profitable as medicines that must be taken for long periods of time. While variations on existing drugs continue to emerge, American scientists believe that no significant new classes of drugs or vaccines will be ready for 5 or 10 years. Antimicrobials all over the world need more controls. Doctors and pharmacists must instruct patients when to use antibiotics, and about the importance of finishing a course of treatment. In addition, all children must be vaccinated against infectious diseases.