Antimicrobial resistance (AR)
Antibiotics and other antimicrobials are strong medicines designed to kill germs, such as bacteria and fungi, that cause infections in your body. Antimicrobial resistance (AR) occurs when germs learn how to defeat the medicines which makes infections difficult to treat.
Why does it matter? Every year in the US:
– 2.8 million people get antimicrobial resistant infections
– 35,000 people die from antimicrobial resistant infections
– $4.6 billion is spent to treat antimicrobial resistant infections