[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 82 (Monday, June 26, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5817-S5818]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I commend my friend from Mississippi, 
Senator Cochran, and also Senator Frist, for the introduction of the 
amendment. I welcome the opportunity to join with them in the hope that 
the Senate will accept that amendment because this amendment is focused 
on one of the very significant and important public health challenges 
that we face as a Nation, and that is antimicrobial resistance.
  Microbes resistant to antibiotics are a major health threat. The 
World Health Organization reports that antibiotic-resistant infections 
acquired in hospitals kill over 14,000 people in the United States 
every year--that's almost two persons every hour, every day, every 
year. Unless we take action, drug-resistant infectious diseases will 
become even more widespread in the United States and kill even larger 
numbers of patients.
  Infections resistant to antibiotics are extremely expensive to treat. 
It is a hundred times more expensive to treat a patient with drug-
resistant TB than to treat a patient with drug-sensitive TB. The 
National Foundation for Infectious Diseases has estimated that the 
total cost of drug-resistant infections in this country is $4 billion a 
year--and this cost will rise as resistant microbes become more common.
  The amendment takes an important step to address this health crisis 
by giving the nation more tools to win the battle against antimicrobial 
resistance.
  Overuse of existing antibiotics contributes heavily to the problem of 
antimicrobial resistance. Patients often demand antibiotics and doctors 
often prescribe them for conditions in which they are clearly 
ineffective. We need to educate patients and medical professionals in 
the more appropriate use of antibiotics.
  The nation's public health agencies are under-equipped to monitor and 
combat resistant infections. Many public health agencies lack even such 
basic equipment as a fax machine, and cannot even conduct simple 
laboratory tests to diagnose resistant infections. We need to 
strengthen the capacity of public health agencies to diagnose, monitor, 
and deal effectively with outbreaks of resistant infections.
  Many patients acquire resistant infections in hospitals. Children, 
the elderly and persons with reduced immune systems are particularly at 
risk. We can do more to prevent the spread of resistant infections by 
strengthening infectious disease control programs in hospitals and 
clinics.

[[Page S5818]]

  We are in a race against time to find new antibiotics before microbes 
become resistant to those already in use. We need to increase research 
on how microbes become resistant to antibiotics and on new ways to 
fight resistant infections. If we slow the rate at which existing 
antibiotics are losing their effectiveness and accelerate the pace of 
discovery, we can win the race against antimicrobial resistance.
  The measures we take against microbes resistant to antibiotics will 
also allow the nation to respond more effectively to terrorist attacks 
using biological weapons. America is a nation at risk from 
bioterrorism. A deadly disease plague released into a crowded airport, 
shopping mall or sports stadium could kill thousands. A contagious 
disease like smallpox released in an American city could kill millions.
  To fight such attacks effectively, we must strengthen the nation's 
ability to recognize, diagnose and contain outbreaks of infectious 
disease. The additional funds that the Cochran-Frist-Kennedy amendment 
provides to state and local public health agencies will improve their 
ability to combat any disease outbreak, whether caused by microbes 
resistant to antibiotics, new diseases like West Nile fever, or 
deliberate attacks using biological weapons.
  The need is urgent to begin to arm ourselves for the fight against 
infectious disease, bioterrorism, and microbes resistant to 
antibiotics. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment.

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