I was surprised this month to find Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (better known as MRSA) on a clinical admissions form for patients to list existing conditions prior to treatment. It was right there alongside more commonly observed conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes. After making this observation, I went to the CDC website on Antibiotic/Antimicrobial Resistance to look up the frequency of MRSA cases, only to discover that this bacterial strain is only 1 of 12 serious threat listed (there are 3 bacterial strains that are classified as urgent threats and 3 as concerning threats). Add to this recent evidence of critical need for good diagnostics (see this recall of Vitek 2 diagnostic card for issues detecting some strains of MRSA) as well as recent reports of multinational pharma companies deprioritizing anti-infective research (for example, this report from Fierce Biotech) and we have strong evidence for a serious and rapidly developing public health problem. In addition to the obvious patient and public safety issues, there are also significant ethical questions raised by community attempts at infection control strategies.

This challenge is not going unnoticed, but it will need significant effort and resources as well as public recognition and participation to succeed. The CDC is actively working to provide the public, care providers and researchers with information and tools to address the problem. This summer FDA Commissioner Scott Gottleib announced the agency’s plans to stimulate the development of new antibacterial and antifungal drugs through novel regulatory pathways and discussing new types of economic incentives for these treatments. Readers can help by educating themselves and following the CDCs recommendations for protecting their families.

Text Copyright © 2018 Katrina Rogers