--- title: Antibiotic Resistance: How to Save the World From Superbugs description: Doctors debate what needs to be done to prevent a crisis of antibiotic resistance at Fortune's Brainstorm Health conference. canonical: https://time.com/4766111/superbugs-antibiotic-resistance/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-03T22:37:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T04:44:18.348Z article:section: Health og:title: How to Keep the World Safe from Superbugs og:description: At Fortune's Brainstorm Health conference, experts reveal how to use antibiotics og:url: https://time.com/4766111/superbugs-antibiotic-resistance/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82f98daf49de7df1/6988cbf2cd1bba75e97050cc/superbugs.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Superbugs og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Keep the World Safe from Superbugs twitter:description: At Fortune's Brainstorm Health conference, experts reveal how to use antibiotics twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82f98daf49de7df1/6988cbf2cd1bba75e97050cc/superbugs.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Keep the World Safe from Superbugs by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin May 3, 2017 10:37 PM UTC  Stuart Isett/Fortune Brainstorm Health by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin May 3, 2017 10:37 PM UTC [Superbugs](http://time.com/4350585/superbug-cant-be-treated-with-antibiotics/), or bacteria that have grown immune to the drugs used to treat them, are rapidly becoming a global public health crisis. In the United States alone, at least 2 million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, and at least 23,000 people die every year from those infections. Combating this problem is going to require a collaborative effort, according to antibiotic resistance experts at [_Fortune’s_ Brainstorm Health conference](http://fortune.com/2017/04/20/brainstorm-health-livestream-2/) in San Diego. Here are three key ways medicine must change in order to keep antibiotics effective and superbugs from taking over. ## **Use fewer antibiotics** About half of the [antibiotic use in healthcare settings](http://time.com/4497675/antibiotics-overused-hospitals/?iid=sr-link10) is inappropriate, said Dr. Jean Patel, an antimicrobial resistance expert at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Patel said that national and global public health groups are focused on developing systems to better track antibiotic use in hospitals. **MORE**: [5 Common Myths About Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria](http://time.com/4114345/antibiotic-resistance-common-myths/?iid=sr-link1) Hospitals and doctor’s offices aren’t the only problems. The use of antibiotics in agriculture also needs oversight, she said. Livestock producers use antibiotics to prevent disease among their animals and to help them bulk up. “Unless we can improve antibiotic use on the farm, then we are going to see these problems arise,” said Patel. ## **Diagnose health problems faster** Determining the cause of a health problem and treating it quickly is another way to cut down on unnecessary antibiotic use. With a precise diagnosis, doctors can pinpoint which drugs are needed (or not) to treat a person’s condition. Dr. Charles Chiu, director of University of California, San Francisco’s Viral Diagnostics and Discovery Center [announced](https://www.genomeweb.com/sequencing/ucsf-lab-readies-launch-metagenomic-ngs-test-infectious-disease) that his team is launching a large new study that could make diagnostics faster and more accurate for the diseases meningitis and encephalitis. “Very often we go through a list \[of health problems\] and still can’t diagnose a disease,” said Chiu. Antibiotics could be spared for many patients if the new test proves successful. ## Get pharma involved Currently, there’s little financial incentive for drug companies to develop new antibiotics, said Dr. Jonathan Thomas, chair of the governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. “It’s been a major problem for decades. So far there hasn’t been any comprehensive solution, and until you \[change that\], you will see \[pharmaceutical companies\] on the sidelines and the problem getting worse.” Including reimbursements from the government for drug companies that put in the resources to develop new antibiotics or taxing the sale of antibiotics could spur the pharmaceutical industry to get involved, Thomas said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4766111/superbugs-antibiotic-resistance/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4766111/superbugs-antibiotic-resistance/"},"headline":"How to Keep the World Safe from Superbugs","datePublished":"2017-05-03T22:37:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:44:18.348Z","description":"Doctors debate what needs to be done to prevent a crisis of antibiotic resistance at Fortune's Brainstorm Health conference.","url":"https://time.com/4766111/superbugs-antibiotic-resistance/","keywords":["antibiotics","medicine","Drugs","Bacteria","antibiotic resistance","drug resistance","antibiotic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82f98daf49de7df1/6988cbf2cd1bba75e97050cc/superbugs.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82f98daf49de7df1/6988cbf2cd1bba75e97050cc/superbugs.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Superbugs","caption":"","creditText":"Stuart Isett/Fortune Brainstorm Health","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/antibiotics/","name":"antibiotics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4766111/superbugs-antibiotic-resistance/","name":"How to Keep the World Safe from Superbugs"}}]}] ```