Olympia Snowe: “today we are facing a public health crisis which most of us certainly did not anticipate. Nearly a half century ago…”

“today we are facing a public health crisis which most of us certainly did not anticipate. Nearly a half century ago, following the development of modern antibiotics, Nobel Laureate Sir McFarland Burnet stated, ``One can think of the middle of the twentieth century as the end of one of the most important social revolutions in history, the virtual elimination of infectious diseases as a significant factor in social life.'' How things have changed. Today some of our most deadly health threats come from infectious diseases. When we consider the greatest killers-- HIV, tuberculosis, malaria--it is clear that infectious diseases have not abated. At the same time we have seen an alarming trend-- increasingly physicians are stymied as existing antibiotics are becoming less effective in treating infections. We know that resistance to drugs can be developed, and that the more we expose bacteria to antibiotics, the more resistance we will see. So it is crucial that we preserve antibiotics for use in treating disease. Most Americans appreciate this fact, and now understand that colds and flu are caused by viruses. So we know that treating a cold with an antibiotic is inappropriate, and we understand that such use of antibiotics is unwise. Over 9 out of 10 Americans now know that resistance to antibiotics is growing. Our health care providers are getting the message too.…”