|Videos|September 13, 2017

How Can Health Care Practitioners Actively Fight Antibiotic Resistance?

Author(s)Contagion&reg Editorial Staff

Daniel Pilch, PhD, explains how the health care system must change in order to battle antibiotic resistance.

Daniel Pilch, PhD, associate professor, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, explains how the health care system must change in order to battle antibiotic resistance. One way health care practitioners can address the problem is to stop overprescribing antibiotics, especially for viral infections. Dr. Pilch also stresses the importance of choosing the right antibiotic, as well as the right dose, for suspected pathogens. Furthermore, Dr. Pilch stresses that patients need to adhere to the medication for the entire recommended treatment duration.

Stay ahead of emerging infectious disease threats with expert insights and breaking research. Subscribe now to get updates delivered straight to your inbox.

Related to this article

September 8th, 2026

From Pathogen to Infectious Disease Diagnosis: Rapid Genotyping Could Bring Ciprofloxacin Back for Gonorrhea Cases

Resistance-guided testing targeting a single gene mutation could let clinicians safely reintroduce ciprofloxacin for the majority of gonorrhea cases still susceptible to it, sparing ceftriaxone as resistance climbs worldwide. Lao-Tzu Allan-Blitz, MD, MPH, offers insights into his work in this area.

September 26th, 2026

Enivronmental Stewardship: The Role of Antimicrobials in Climate Change

Widespread antimicrobial use disrupts vital microbial communities that regulate Earth’s biogeochemical cycles, driving antimicrobial resistance, worsening human and environmental health, and significantly contributing to climate change.

September 24th, 2026

Carbapenem-Sparing Therapy for ESBL Bacteremia: New Trials, Old Questions

New data from the PETERPEN trial suggest that piperacillin-tazobactam may be noninferior to meropenem for early clinical outcomes in select patients with ESBL bloodstream infections, but carbapenems remain the standard of care until final mortality results are available and fully analyzed.

September 23rd, 2026

Implanted Antibiotic Reduced Systemic Regimen for Orthopedic Infection

Outcomes from treating orthopedic infection with debridement and implanted antibiotic were similar whether followed by short or standard duration of systemic antibiotic.

September 21st, 2026

How The Food Safety Surveillance Infrastructure Works in the US

In the first episode of our new series looking at the food safety network, Lynette Johnston, PhD, offers insights into how the federal government surveillance infrastructure operates and how epidemiologists serve as food detectives in determining bacterial pathogens and potential foodborne outbreaks.

September 19th, 2026

This Week's Top 5 Infectious Disease News Stories: September 12-September 18, 2026

In this week's top infectious disease stories, a Pennsylvania teen became the state's fourth measles death in weeks, the CDC reported a 17% summer surge in rabies exposure calls, new research revisited whether cefepime raises mortality risk, a multihospital review examined ceftriaxone's safety after state alerts, and examining Legionella pneumonia diagnostics.

September 16th, 2026

Ceftriaxone Safety: Separating Signal From Risk

A retrospective multihospital study found that severe adverse events occurred at similarly low rates with ceftriaxone and other IV cephalosporins suggesting there is no evidence to support avoiding ceftriaxone despite recent health department safety alerts.