How Best To Use The Few New Drugs To Treat Antibiotic-Resistant Germs?

"Five years ago, Mary Millard went to the hospital for heart surgery. A contaminated medical instrument gave her an infection that led to septic shock. Her heart struggled, and her lungs and kidneys started to fail."

'What I caught was pseudomonas, and it's a very virulent superbug,' says the 60-year-old former nurse who lives in Baton Rouge, La. This bacterium no longer responds to most antibiotics, and 'it lives in you permanently, so I'm on lifetime antibiotics,'" she says."

"Her doctor prescribed one of the most powerful antibiotics available, and there is no clear backup for her if that stops working. 'It's kind of a wait-and-see. And that's what's scary."

"Millard is just one of about 2 million Americans who have been infected with a superbug. Tens of thousands die each year, and the numbers are vastly higher on a global scale."

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a major new report about antibiotic resistant germs on Wednesday. The CDC now estimates more than 2.8 million infections that resist treatment and 35,000 deaths a year in the United States from this problem – a big jump from its previous estimate in 2013."

"The report does show that improved medical practices have reduced hospital-related infections with these superbugs, but the agency warns that several common bacteria, including the one that causes gonorrhea, are becoming more resistant to antibiotics."