The Antibiotics Resistance Problem

• Antibiotics Simplified by Jason Gallagher and Conan MacDougall (2018)
  • A best-selling, succinct guide designed to bridge knowledge gained in basic sciences courses with clinical practice in infectious diseases. This practical text reviews basic microbiology and how to approach the pharmacotherapy of a patient with a presumed infection. It also contains concise Drug Class Reviews with an explanation of the characteristics of various classes of antibacterial drugs and antifungal drugs.
• The Microbes Fight Back: Antibiotic Resistance by Laura Bowater (2017)
  • This book begins by looking back at how infectious diseases, such as smallpox and the plague, were able to wreak havoc on populations before the discovery of the first antibiotics. These then revolutionised the medical world. In an engaging and accessible style, Professor Bowater takes the reader through how antibiotics are made, how bacteria are able to mutate and develop resistance and she explains why there is now a lack of new antibiotic drugs coming to market.
• Big Chicken: The Incredible Story of How Antibiotics Created Modern Agriculture and Changed the Way the World Eats by Maryn McKennia (2017)
  • What you eat matters--for your health, for the environment, and for future generations. In this riveting investigative narrative, McKenna dives deep into the world of modern agriculture by way of chicken: from the farm where it's raised directly to your dinner table. Consumed more than any other meat in the United States, chicken is emblematic of today's mass food-processing practices and their profound influence on our lives and health. Tracing its meteoric rise from scarce treat to ubiquitous global commodity, McKenna reveals the astounding role of antibiotics in industrial farming, documenting how and why "wonder drugs" revolutionized the way the world eats--and not necessarily for the better.
• Drug Resistance by Sarah Boslaugh (2017)
  • Written in clear, nontechnical language, this investigation of drug resistance provides readers with an overview of the scientific issues, the current scope of the problem nationally and globally, and the measures that can be taken to combat this public health crisis.
• Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria (DVD) narrated by David Hoffman (2017)
  • PBS's Frontline reporter David Hoffman investigates the alarming rise in hospitals, communities, and across the globe of untreatable infections. Fueled by decades of antibiotic overuse, the crisis has deepened as major drug companies have abandoned the development of new antibiotics. Without swift action, the miracle age of antibiotics could be coming to an end.
• ANTIBIOTICS: FDA Has Encouraged Development, but Needs to Clarify the Role of Draft Guidance and Develop Qualified Infectious Disease Product Guidance (January 2017, available online)
  • Report to Congressional Requesters from the US Government Accountability Office.
• Miracle Cure: The Creation of Antibiotics and the Birth of Modern Medicine by William Rosen (2017)
  • Timely, engrossing, and eye-opening, Miracle Cure is a must-read science narrative--a drama of enormous range, combining science, technology, politics, and economics to illuminate the reasons behind one of the most dramatic changes in humanity's relationship with nature since the invention of agriculture ten thousand years ago.

You may also be interested in checking out

our previous recommended reading list on antibiotic resistance

from May 2017.