President Obama is proposing to double the spending on fighting "nightmare bacteria" spreading in hospitals.
The proposed budget released Tuesday includes $30 million annually over the next five years for the detection and prevention of "superbug" infections, which can resist even the strongest antibiotics, according to an announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The funds would be used to establish regional labs to identify outbreaks more quickly and to help hospitals collaborate on reducing the spread of the bacteria.
According to Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fighting antibiotic-resistant infections this way could cut in half the number of hospital-acquired infections with C. difficile, a toxic bacteria capable of causing severe diarrhea and death. According to the CDC, that would prevent 150,000 hospitalizations, save 20,000 lives and save $2 billion in health care costs. The effort could also reduce the rates of other resistant bacteria, such as salmonella and CRE, MRSA and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.
Over two million Americans are sickened each year by antibiotic-resistant infections and at least 23,000 die from them, according to the Diseases Society of America, who want Obama and Congress to go even further in fighting antibiotic resistance. The society said Congress should give the Food and Drug Administration power to quickly approve antibiotics for those patients who have resistant infections. The group said Congress should also pass tax credits to incentivize research and the development of new antibiotics.
Prior to the budget announcement, the CDC released a study indicating that frequent use of antibiotics was putting patients at risk of deadly infections. Though antibiotics can save lives, using them too frequently encourages the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
"Poor prescribing practices put patients at risk," Frieden said. "The bottom line is that we have to protect patients by protecting antibiotics."
The CDC's study showed that hospitalized patients who received broad-acting antibiotics were three times more likely to develop dangerous infections with bacteria called Clostridium difficile, or C. diff.
Frieden said that hospitals that have programs in place to use antibiotics more responsibly can save $200,000 to $900,000 per year. As part of their announcement, the CDC issued guidelines for hospitals to improve how they prescribe.
"Improving antibiotic prescribing can save today's patients from deadly superbugs and protect lifesaving antibiotics for tomorrow's patients," Frieden said in a statement.
According to John Combes, senior vice president at the American Hospital Association, the U.S. health care industry is working on the problem.
"We recognize we must improve our practices, not only for the benefit of patients under our care but to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics for future patients," he said.
