Experts in Infectious Diseases to House Leaders: Address Antimicrobial Resistance

Experts in Infectious Diseases to House Leaders: Address Antimicrobial Resistance

Trish Perl, MD, FIDSA, spoke on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America at Thursday's House Budget Committee roundtable on the threats of antimicrobial resistance. Dr. Perl stressed the extraordinary threats to patient safety, national security and the U.S. health care system, with more than 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections in the United States each year. The bipartisan Pioneering Antimicrobial Subscriptions to End Upsurging Resistance (PASTEUR) Act would provide much needed resources to address AMR.

"The cost of inaction on antimicrobial resistance far outweighs the cost of action. As we lose antibiotics and antifungals to growing resistance, and we fail to replace them through innovation, we are turning back the clock on modern medicine and sometimes practicing as they did in the pre-antibiotic era."

- Trish Perl, MD, FIDSA, Professor of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, UT Southwestern Medical Center

IDSA calls on congressional leadership to pass PASTEUR this year.

"Our patients cannot wait any longer. Modern medical advances are not only at risk - they are already slipping away from many patients due to infections physicians cannot treat. Congress must pass PASTEUR this year."

- Steven K. Schmitt, MD, FIDSA, President, IDSA

Read Dr. Perl's full remarks.

About IDSA
The Infectious Diseases Society of America is a community of over 13,000 physicians, scientists and public health experts who specialize in infectious diseases. Its purpose is to improve the health of individuals, communities and society by promoting excellence in patient care, education, research, public health and prevention relating to infectious diseases. Learn more at idsociety.org.