Biography
Biography: Glenn S Tillotson
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an escalating problem globally. The consequences of resistance may include increased morbidity and mortality. However the economic impact of this problem is poorly understood. In addition to enormous human cost of AMR there have been attempts to estimate the economic costs as well. These would be either direct healthcare costs such as increased length of hospital stays, loss of productivity or secondary social costs such as foregoing medical procedures or refraining from travel because of increased risk. In 2013, the CDC estimated that the direct costs of AMR were US $20 billion with additional productivity losses of US $35 billion. The CDC has also published a list of bacterial species in which antibiotic resistance has reached significant levels. The impact of antibiotic resistance in five species will be discussed namely; Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae. The global implications of antibiotic resistance will be put into perspective.