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Science / What Comes After Antibiotics? 5 Alternatives To Stop Superbugs
What Comes After Antibiotics? 5 Alternatives to Stop Superbugs
"Superbug" bacterial infections that are resistant to common antibiotics are increasing at an alarming rate. But traditional antibiotics aren't the only way to battle dangerous germs. Biomedical scientists are investigating new additions to their arsenal.

BY ADAM HADHAZY

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In the realm of human health, few developments are scarier than the growing uselessness of antibiotics. These miracle drugs have kept killer diseases in check for decades, saving millions of lives. Fortunately, antibiotics still work—most of the time. And though we are winning battles against germs, scientists fear that we are starting to lose the war.

According to a 2013 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than two million people in the United States now come down with antibiotic-resistant superbug infections every year. At least 23,000 victims die annually. And harmful bacteria and fungi are evolving resistance to deployed antibiotics at a quicker pace than we can come up with new drugs. From 1980 to 2000, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved more than 50 new antibiotics. Since then, the number approved is less than 10—and, since 2010, zero.

"We have to do something, because the old antibiotic approach is failing," says Ry Young, director of the Center for Phage Technology at Texas A&M University. "The problem is becoming worse, and becoming worse faster."

In the arms race with pathogens, here are some of our most promising new weapons.
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