Countering antibiotic resistance

Infectious Diseases Many disease-causing bacteria are resistant to one or more antibiotics, making them difficult to treat. Yet few new antibiotics are being approved for use as medicines. In a Perspective, Perros argues that better understanding of the fundamental characteristics of Gram-negative bacteria is particularly important for the development of new antibiotics. Advances in rapid diagnostics will help to treat patients with the right medication, and also help in the development of highly targeted antibiotics. In a second Perspective, Baker chronicles how antibiotic resistance has become a daily reality in lower-income countries. Drug resistance in the bacterium causing typhoid fever, for example, is so widespread that conditions may return to those of the pre-antibiotic era. New drugs may help, but without large-scale changes in antibiotic use, their impact is likely to be short-lived. Science , this issue p. [1062][1], p. [1064][2] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aaa3048 [2]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aaa2868