RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Antibiotic resistance. An impending crisis
JF Saudi Medical Journal
JO Saudi Med J
FD Prince Sultan Military Medical City
SP 1125
OP 1129
VO 21
IS 12
A1 Manuel W. Mah
A1 Ziad A. Memish
YR 2000
UL http://smj.org.sa/content/21/12/1125.abstract
AB The global emergence of antimicrobial resistance has become a pre-eminent concern in medicine and public health. Antimicrobial resistance is of particular concern because the problem is widespread, the causative factors are uncontrolled, and national strategies to address the problem are lacking. The persisting burden of infectious diseases makes elimination of antibiotic use unethical, but dramatic overuse and misuse of antimicrobial agents around the world must be reduced to extend the useful lifetimes of these drugs. Population genetic models suggest that resistance emerges rapidly under the selective pressure of antibiotics, but decays slowly once that pressure is removed. Hence, measures to prevent the emergence of resistance must be implemented urgently. A multiplicity of factors drive antibiotic resistance, and solutions require the collaboration of governmental agencies, the pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers, and consumers. Leadership in the form of a national steering committee on antimicrobial resistance is needed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to guide collective action to control the threat of antibiotic resistance.