Antimicrobial Use and Resistance Basics

• Antibiotic Resistance in Minnesota (PDF)
  Fact sheet about antibiotic resistance in Minnesota.
  
  
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Antimicrobial Use and Resistance
  Answers to frequently asked questions about antimicrobial use and resistance.
  
  
• What You Can Do to Improve Antibiotic Use
  Understand when antibiotics are needed, take your antibiotics in the right way, consider alternatives to antibiotic use when you are feeling sick, dispose leftover antibiotics appropriately, learn about appropriate antibiotic use in animals.
  
  
• Diseases and Infections Commonly Associated with Antimicrobial Resistance
  Information about diseases and infections commonly associated with antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotic Resistance and its Effect on Humans, Animals, and the Environment

Antibiotics are powerful tools for fighting and preventing infections. However, widespread use of antibiotics has resulted in an alarming increase in antibiotic-resistant infections. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in a way that reduces the effectiveness of drugs designed to cure or prevent infections. As antibiotic-resistant infections become more common, therapeutic options for the treatment of bacterial infections are increasingly limited, expensive, and often more toxic.

The health of humans, animals, and the environment is interconnected.  Widespread use of antibiotics has led to resistant infections in both humans and animals. Concerns have also been raised about the effect of antibiotics in the environment, present as a result of human waste treatment processes, distribution of antibiotic-containing human and animal waste as fertilizer on agricultural land, and effluent from industrial processes. 

• CDC: Antibiotic/Antimicrobial Resistance
  CDC's website for all antibiotic resistance activities including: general information on drug-resistant pathogens, educational campaign resources, and laboratory testing and training resources.

Everyone has a part to play. Antibiotic stewardship consists of coordinated interventions that promote judicious antibiotic use and reduce the impact of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. One Health antibiotic stewardship promotes understanding among human, animal, and environmental health fields, while also informing the public and engaging them in their own antibiotic stewardship role. We will be most productive if we learn from each other’s successes and challenges and if we communicate in a way that is respectful of all fields. We all know that we have work to do. From the doctor’s office to the farm to the veterinary clinic and, yes, to the homes of regular Minnesotans, we can all improve how we use antibiotics.

• CDC: Antibiotic Resistance (AR) Investments
  CDC has released AR investment maps, which contain state and city specific information on CDC investments to defend against antibiotic resistance, including the Emerging Infections Program (EIP).

Antibiotic Use: Allina Health Media Services Video

Allina Health Media Services: Antibiotic Use (Vimeo)

More videos/webinars

• MDH YouTube Playlist: Antibiotic Stewardship
• CDC: Get Smart About Antibiotics: For Patients and Parents
  
• Supermoms Against Superbugs: Meet the Movement
  
• Real Pig Farming: What Responsible Antibiotic Use Means on a Pig Farm
  
• Ecologic Institute: The Drugs We Wash Away: Pharmaceuticals, Drinking Water and the Environment