As More Bacteria Grow Resistant to Antibiotics, Scientists are Fighting Back

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls antibiotic resistance "one of the biggest public health challenges of our time." Each year, about 2.8 million people in the U.S. are infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria or fungi. More than 35,000 of them die, among an estimated 700,000 deaths worldwide.

At USC, scientists are working to build new lines of defense against the rise of powerful bacteria and fungi. They've turned the university into an epicenter for research as they race to develop new strategies and tools to counteract the growing threat.

"Antibiotic resistance is a naturally occurring phenomenon-it's been happening before we humans walked the earth. We're just making it worse," says Adam Smith, an environmental engineer at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering who studies the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in our water supply. Microbes have gained such resilience through adaptation, he adds, that "we're quickly reaching a post-antibiotic world."

Used properly, antibiotics can knock out many bacterial infections, from strep throat to urinary tract infections. But the CDC estimates that at least 30% of antibiotic prescriptions in emergency rooms, hospitals and clinics are inappropriate. They're doled out for virus-caused health issues they can't fix, such as the flu or a common cold.

Says Nanda: "What's disappointing is why this has happened-the absence of a disciplined restriction around prescribing antibiotics."

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