Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (CARB)

The evolution of pathogens to resist the drugs used to treat infections is an ongoing threat to public health, animal health, food production, and national security. Globally, a recent analysis estimated that 1.2 million deaths were caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria in 2019, making this threat a leading cause of death for people of all ages worldwide. Domestically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 2.8 million Americans suffer from AR infections each year and that more than 35,000 die. While significant progress to address AR has been made in recent years, CDC found surges in antibiotic use and resistant infections in U.S. hospitals during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, including an alarming 15 percent increase in both resistant hospital-onset infections and deaths.

To coordinate and enhance the public health response to the AR threat, the U.S. Government takes a global One Health approach recognizing that AR arising in humans, animals, or the environment may spread from one to the other, and from one country to another. These efforts focus on reducing the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens through infection prevention and control, surveillance, diagnostic testing, therapeutic and other product innovation, and global coordination.

Implementation of the U.S. Government approach requires sustained, coordinated, and complementary efforts of individuals and groups around the world, including healthcare providers, healthcare leaders, veterinarians, agriculture industry leaders, manufacturers, policymakers, and patients. All of us depend on antibiotics, so we must all join in a common effort to detect, stop, and prevent the emergence and spread of drug-resistant pathogens.