U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week is November 18-24.

Photo credit: CDC

U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week is an annual one-week observance that gives participating organizations an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of appropriate antibiotic use to combat the threat of antibiotic resistance.

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Consider these facts from the CDC:

• Antibiotic resistance is one of the most urgent threats to the public’s health.
• More than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the United States each year, and more than 35,000 people die as a result. (See CDC’s antibiotic resistance website).
• In addition, 223,900 cases of Clostridioides difficile occurred in 2017 and at least 12,800 people died.
• Antibiotic-resistant germs can quickly spread across settings, including communities, the food supply, healthcare facilities, the environment (e.g., soil, water), and around the world. Antibiotic resistance is a One Health problem—the health of people is connected to the health of animals and the environment (soil, water).

Health Science libraries can partner with the CDC to promote the responsible use and prescription of antibiotics. Assess the Be Antibiotics Aware Toolkit here: www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/week/toolkit.html