The Rising Threat of Antibiotic Resistance

We are Out of time. New, effective antibiotics are required to face the real and growing global threat from resistant and too often deadly bacterial infections. According to the World Health Organization, 'Antibiotic resistance is rising to dangerously high levels in all parts of the world. New resistance mechanisms are emerging and spreading globally, threatening our ability to treat common infectious diseases.' The organization adds, 'A growing list of infections, such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, blood poisoning, gonorrhea, and foodborne diseases, are becoming harder, and sometimes impossible, to treat as antibiotics become less effective' [1]. © 2010-2012 IEEE.