In Brief

2015 Budget Includes $30 Million for Fighting Antibiotic Resistance

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By Rachael Rettner
published

artist rendering of bacteria
Bacteria (Image credit: Dreamstime)

The government's 2015 budget includes an additional $30 million to detect and prevent antibiotic resistance, according to the department of Health and Human Services.

This budget more than doubles the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's funding for fighting antibiotic resistance, HHS said.

The announcement comes just after the CDC released a report describing how misuse of antibiotics in hospitals can increase a patient's risk complications, such as development of the deadly bacterial infection Clostridium difficile. The CDC estimates that implementing programs that prevent antibiotic misuse could reduce the rate of C. difficile infection by half over a five-year period.

The Infectious Disease Society of America applauded the budget request.

"On behalf of the millions of patients who suffer from resistant infections, IDSA has long called for increased federal leadership to address this public health crisis," the IDSA said in a statement. "This budget request is an important step forward, and we urge Congress to fully fund it."

The organization also called on the government to pass legislation that would provide tax credits to spur the development of new antibiotics.

Rachael Rettner
Rachael Rettner
Contributor

Rachael is a Live Science contributor, and was a former channel editor and senior writer for Live Science between 2010 and 2022. She has a master's degree in journalism from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. She also holds a B.S. in molecular biology and an M.S. in biology from the University of California, San Diego. Her work has appeared in Scienceline, The Washington Post and Scientific American.