tracking a rise
\nin antibiotic resistance<\/a> statewide.<\/p>\n\u201cThe concern is that we\u2019re not keeping pace as far as
\nantibiotic development and control of these infections with their rise,\u201d
\nHolland said. \u201cThings that we could normally treat relatively easily, like
\nurinary tract infections or staph infections, are becoming harder to treat.
\nThat has costs and implications for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0The CDC estimates 2.8
\nmillion drug-resistant bacteria infections are reported each year, with an
\nestimated 35,000 deaths. <\/p>\n
Holland told WRAL the source of the increase is multifactorial.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cOne is that we aren\u2019t keeping pace with new antibiotic
\ndevelopment as fast as the bacteria and the fungi and different germs are
\nevolving,\u201d Holland said. \u201cAnother issue is surveillance. We need to be able to
\nknow what\u2019s out there. We have to invest in and keep testing the different
\ngerms that our patients have or that are in our livestock to understand what
\nthese patterns are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Overuse of antibiotics, including in cases where they are
\nnot needed as in viral infections, has also believed to be contributing to a
\ngrowth in antibiotic-resistant infections.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more we use antibiotics and put selection pressure on
\nbacteria, the more they\u2019re going to evolve resistance,\u201d Holland explained. \u201cIf
\nyou have a common cold, it\u2019s not bacterial and antibiotics in that situation
\nare not going to help you and are going to contribute to driving this evolution
\nof resistance for everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n
The infectious disease specialist also shared that warming
\ntemperatures are a contributing factor. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe live in a warming environment. Things that weren\u2019t
\nnormally in North Carolina, like some fungal infections, are now popping up
\nhere. We\u2019re seeing viral infections that normally would have been in the
\ntropics, now showing up in the U.S. and North Carolina,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n
Holland said combating\u00a0the rise in antibiotic-resistant
\nbacteria will require a long-term, focused response. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to know and understand what our local trends are
\nfor resistance. If I\u2019m treating a patient who is really sick with a urinary
\ntract infection, I have to understand \u2013 until I have culture results back \u2013 I may
\nhave to use something that\u2019s broader or can cover a wider range of pathogens up
\nfront,\u201d Holland said. <\/p>\n
The physician said the increase is concerning but does not
\nwant patients to panic, stating, \u201cThis is not a stay-in-your-home situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued, \u201cThis is something that requires a concerted
\nand large societal response over time. Wash your hands and just having good
\nhand hygiene is helpful for not spreading these bugs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The World Health Organization is warning drug-resistant bacteria, dubbed \u2018superbugs\u2019 are on the rise. These bacteria do not…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":309327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[23053,1230,210,67,132,68,26413],"class_list":{"0":"post-309326","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-bacteria","9":"tag-drugs","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us","14":"tag-world-health-organization"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115386573503991552","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=309326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/309327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}