Antibiotic Resistance
Bacteria are becoming resistant to different classes of existing antibiotics at increasing rates. These increasing levels of resistance are principally the result of repeated exposure of bacteria to non-lethal quantities of antibiotics and the ability of certain bacteria to transmit mutant genes to other bacterial species, thus enabling different species of bacteria to survive the antibiotic to which the first species was exposed. The increase in antibiotic resistance since 1990 has been substantial and is especially prevalent in hospital environments. According to the State of Pennsylvania 2005 Report, 14% of hospital ICU infections were fatal and those infections accounted for $2.9 billion in increased costs.
