Antibiotic resistance poses biggest threat
Image: Dame Sally Davies
The government's chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies has described antibiotic resistance as a "ticking time bomb". She has urged the government to raise the issue at next month's G8 Summit in London, warning that routine operations could become deadly within 20 years.
"If we don't take action, then we may all be back in an almost 19th Century environment where infections kill us as a result of routine operations," she said. "We won't be able to do a lot of our cancer treatments or organ transplants."
She added that over-use of antibiotics in livestock as well as humans is contributing to the issue. This is coupled with a lack of new antibiotics being developed by pharmaceutical companies.
Dame Sally said: "We haven't had a new class of antibiotics since the late 80s," something which she blames on the lack of financial incentives for manufacturing companies.
A five-year UK Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy is soon to be published, and will advocate the responsible use of antibiotics as well as stronger surveillance methods. The chief medical officer said antimicrobial resistance will be put on the government's national risk register of civil emergencies, along with other potential threats such as terrorist attacks and major flooding.
The Alliance to Save our Antibiotics has welcomed these warnings, and further asserted that the government has still not faced up to the problems caused by antibiotic use on farms. In a report published yesterday, the alliance has contradicted the government's claims that there is no evidence that this contributes to human resistance.
The alliance has called for a range of measures, including a ban on the use of fluoroquinolones in poultry, and modern cephalosporins in poultry, pigs and cattle.
Dame Sally is not the first chief medical officer to warn of the dangers of antibiotic resistance. Liam Donaldson, her predecessor in 2008 urged doctors not to prescribe antibiotics to treat colds, and Sir Kenneth Calman made a similar plea as early as 1999.
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
