For World Antibiotics Awareness Week: “'Seek Advice' and Raise your Antibiotics IQ”

Cameron Harsh, Senior Manager for Organic & Animal Policy at Center for Food Safety

Thanksgiving is just a week away, and it begs the question: will we still be thankful for antibiotics this time next year?

This week is the World Health Organization’s annual “World Antibiotics Awareness Week” raising global awareness of the antibiotic resistance crisis and encouraging action to preserve the efficacy of important medicines to fight life-threatening infections. 2017’s theme is “Seek advice from a qualified healthcare professional before taking antibiotics.”

New WHO Guideline Offers Hope in Curbing Antibiotics

David Wallinga, MD NRDC Senior Health Officer, Health Program

As antibiotic resistance spreads worldwide, the calls get more urgent to stop squandering our most precious medicines, in both human medicine and in livestock. Released earlier this week are new recommendations from the World Health Organization—the leading international public health authority—on how the medically important antibiotics given to food animals can be used better. They’re especially timely, given that next week is Antibiotic Awareness Week.