skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump's pick to lead DEA withdraws from consideration; Report: NYS hospitals' operating margins impact patient care; Summit County, CO aims to remain economically viable in warming climate; SD Gov. sets aside 2026 budget funds for new education savings accounts.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

GOP Senators voice reservations about Kash Patel, Trump's FBI pick. President Biden continues to face scrutiny over pardoning his son. And GOP House members gear up for tough budget fights, possibly targeting important programs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Residents in Colorado's rural communities face challenges to recycling, climate change and Oregon's megadrought are worrying firefighters, and a farm advocacy group says corporate greed is behind high food prices in Montana.

Experts say antibiotic resistance is growing in VT due to 'superbugs'

play audio
Play

Tuesday, November 12, 2024   

Medical researchers say germs are getting smarter and more of them are becoming resistant to a class of drugs designed to treat infections.

Doctors said the overprescribing of medications designed to fight bacteria has turned some of them into "superbugs," which cause infections which can be difficult or impossible to cure.

David Hyun, director of the Antibiotic Resistance Project at the Pew Charitable Trusts, said research shows at least one in three antibiotics prescribed are unnecessary.

"These bacteria are continuously learning through exposure to find defenses and evasion mechanisms to survive antibiotic treatment," Hyun explained. "Once that happens, then that antibiotic becomes obsolete."

A recent report from the World Health Organization said antibiotic resistance is rendering the pipeline for innovative drugs to fight deadly pathogens inadequate. A bill pending in Congress, the PASTEUR Act, would allocate $6 billion to fund new research into critical antimicrobials.

Doctors said some patients pressure them to prescribe antibiotics when an illness may be caused by a viral or other type of infection, leading to overuse of antimicrobials.

Dr. Kemper Alston, infectious disease division chief at the University of Vermont Medical Center, said it can put a physician in an awkward situation.

"The problem is that a primary care doctor doesn't have a half-hour to give a lecture on the history of antibiotics and the reasons why it is probably a viral infection and not a bacterial infection at all," Alston pointed out. "They're much more likely just prescribe an antibiotic and have the patient feel like something positive has been done."

Alston noted new research into drugs targeting specific pathogens is needed and the way antibiotics are currently manufactured and prescribed no longer works.

"The current model is probably not sustainable, and as we're finding in some cases, we're running out of active drugs," Alston stressed. "Something's got to change, either new drugs with entirely new targets that have never been exploited before, or we have to change how we use these drugs."

Disclosure: The Pew Charitable Trusts Environmental Group contributes to our fund for reporting on Endangered Species & Wildlife, Environment, and Public Lands/Wilderness. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Research on the effects of a school voucher program in Louisiana show academic performance decreased among kids who use vouchers to attend private schools. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

In this week's 2026 budget address, Gov. Kristi Noem proposed establishing education savings accounts for K-12 students in South Dakota. Opponents …


Environment

play sound

The most current study from the Environmental Protection Agency estimated more than 143 million Americans are at risk of drinking water tainted with P…

Social Issues

play sound

Maryland has one of the highest percentages in the nation of people in prison who began serving time when they were juveniles. A new report from …


The unpaid care provided by more than 580,000 Wisconsin caregivers is valued at $9.2 billion, according to AARP. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

More than 580,000 Wisconsinites are unpaid family caregivers and they serve as the backbone of the state's long-term care system, and one …

Environment

play sound

A county high in the Colorado Rockies is working to include its underserved residents in plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the primary driver …

State officials say in 2023, Minnesota's workplace injury and illness rate fell to an all-time low. (Freepik)

Social Issues

play sound

There is promising news at the national level and in Minnesota in trying to lower workplace injuries and illnesses. A key labor organization is happy …

Social Issues

play sound

By Dakarai Turner for WISH-TV.Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the WISH-TV-Free Press Indiana-Public News Service…

Environment

play sound

By Grey Moran for Civil Eats.Broadcast version by Danielle Smith for Mississippi News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021