Could antibiotics like these be ineffective against some illnesses in the future?
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The experts warn we're at the dawn of a post-antibiotic era. Immediate global action is needed, they say, if dire consequencesare to be avoided within just a few years.
This would involve cutting down on the unnecessary prescription of antibiotics and providing incentives to pharmaceutical companies to develop new drugs. Research would be needed into how antibiotics in farming affect the growth of drug-resistant strainsof bacteria.
The experts warn that without effective antibiotics, treatments ranging from minor surgery to current cancer chemotherapy regimes could become impossible and that deaths from infections in developed countries might return to levels last seen in the early 20th century.
They also say healthcare costs would probably spiral, as we'd be forced to resort to newer, more expensive drugs and stay in hospital for longer when recovering from illness.
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period of time when we don't use antibiotics
seriously bad results
piece of paper on which a doctor writes the details of the medicine or drugs that someone needs
things that encourage or motivate people to do something
types (of bacteria) that do not react to drugs
successful
types of medical care
(here) ways of working
increase quickly / get much worse
to do something you don't want to do because there is no other option
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