The steady and alarming rise in antibiotic resistance poses one of the greatest challenges to public health and modern medicine and has been further aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The antibiotic resistance crisis is particularly devastating in many of the poorest countries of the developing world, as well as hospitals and long-term care facilities in wealthier nations, where such infections strike vulnerable patients with weak immune systems or chronic diseases. The roots of our current dilemma are multifactorial. Overzealous use of antibiotics in both clinical and agricultural settings, the departure of major pharmaceutical companies from antibiotic development (viewed as unprofitable), and simple Darwinian evolution of microbes exposed to life-or-death selective pressures each contribute profoundly. Can we, through public awareness, changes in medical practice, and scientific innovation, lift ourselves out of the hole that we have dug? Many ethical dilemmas must be acknowledged and confronted, such as balancing restrictions on individual liberty for the protection of the public health and the wellbeing of future generations. We must also consider just and sustainable use of this precious resource tailored to the markedly differing economic and epidemiological situations across the globe with diverse health systems and variable antibiotic markets.

Guest Speaker:  

Dr. Victor Nizet, MD, Distinguished Professor and Vice Chair for Basic Research in the Department of Pediatrics, Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Chief of the Division of Host-Microbe Systems & Therapeutics at UC San Diego.  

Webinar Link: https://ucsd.zoom.us/j/99620488960