Superbugs: An Arms Race against Bacteria

by William Hall, Anthony McDonnell, Jim O'Neill Chair of a formal Review on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

Overview

Antibiotics are powerful drugs that can prevent and treat infections, but they are becoming less effective as a result of drug resistance. Resistance develops because the bacteria that antibiotics target can evolve ways to defend themselves against these drugs. When antibiotics fail, there is very little else to prevent an infection from spreading.

Unnecessary use of antibiotics in both humans and animals accelerates the evolution of drug-resistant bacteria, with potentially catastrophic personal and global consequences. Our best defenses against infectious disease could cease to work, surgical procedures would become deadly, and we might return to a world where even small cuts are life-threatening. The problem of drug resistance already kills over one million people across the world every year and has huge economic costs. Without action, this problem will become significantly worse.

Following from their work on the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, William Hall, Anthony McDonnell, and Jim O’Neill outline the major systematic failures that have led to this growing crisis. They also provide a set of solutions to tackle these global issues that governments, industry, and public health specialists can adopt. In addition to personal behavioral modifications, such as better handwashing regimens, Superbugs argues for mounting an offense against this threat through agricultural policy changes, an industrial research stimulus, and other broad-scale economic and social incentives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674975989
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	04/09/2018
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

William Hall, a public policy professional, served as Senior Policy Advisor for the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance.

Anthony McDonnell is Senior Health Economist, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, and was Head of Economic Research for the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance.

Jim O’Neill, an internationally recognized economist, served as Chair of the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance.

Table of Contents

Foreword Sally Davies vii

Introduction 1

Part I The Problem of Drug Resistance

Chapter 1 When a Scratch Could Kill 9

Chapter 2 The Rise of Resistance 30

Chapter 3 Failures in Tackling Drug-Resistant Infections 54

Part II Solutions to Counter Antimicrobial Resistance

Chapter 4 Incentives for New Drug Development 85

Chapter 5 Prevention Is Better than Cure 116

Chapter 6 Reducing Unnecessary Use of Antibiotics in Humans 145

Chapter 7 Agriculture and the Environment 167

Chapter 8 Next Steps 193

Notes 217

Bibliography 221

Acknowledgments 235

Index 239

Editorial Reviews

[L]ucid and thoughtful… Superbugs provides a set of policy prescriptions, framed in pragmatic terms meant to motivate self-interested politicians.

New York Review of Books - Jerome Groopman

Excellent.

Choice

An immensely readable description of the challenges that encourage overuse of antibiotics and discourage new drug development…Superbugs is a worthy exposition of the challenges we will have to surmount to incentivize more responsible antibiotic use until we discover new ways of dealing with infections.

Science - Ramanan Laxminarayan

As antibiotics become increasingly ineffective, modern medicine faces a global threat. Can we do anything to stop it? That’s the question posed by the book Superbugs: An Arms Race against Bacteria. [The] authors look at the rise of drug resistance, and their research is sobering.

Late Night Live (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Addressing antimicrobial resistance requires the kind of thoughtful yet action-oriented analysis that this vitally important book provides. The messages in Superbugs should be heeded by individuals, government officials, and policymakers around the world.

Larry Summers

With superb insight into one of the greatest health threats to humankind, Superbugs highlights the need for an integrated, multifaceted approach to treating drug-resistant infections. This riveting book makes a compelling case for action.

Peter Piot

Jim O’Neill helped take the issue of antimicrobial resistance from the science lab to the global stage. He and coauthors Anthony McDonnell and William Hall impart a compelling story about the battle against what could become a mass killer of humanity.

David Cameron