Antibiotic Facts
The following are some interesting facts about Antibiotics.
In 1954, two million pounds of antibiotics were produced in the United States. Today the figure exceeds 50 million pounds.
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2000)
In one year in the United States, of the 51 million physician visits for colds, upper respiratory tract infections, and bronchitis,
50% to 66% of those visits culminated in an antibiotic prescription. (Annals of Internal Medicine, July 2000)
Streptococcus pneumoniae, the most common bacterial cause for illnesses such as meningitis, middle ear infections, and community-acquired pneumonia causes an estimated 700,000
to 1 million middle-ear infections in children a year, 50,000 cases of pneumonia, hundreds of cases of meningitis and blood stream infections, and
4,000 deaths per year. (California Department of Health Services, 2001)
In California, out of the three main classifications of antibiotics tested for effectiveness against Streptococcus pneumoniae, penicillins show
a 30% resistance level, erythromycin-like antibiotics 22% resistance and fluoroquinolones 1%. This means that for one in three people
who receive a penicillin-type antibiotic, it may not work. (California Department of Health Services, 2001)
In a population of 275 million people (the size of the United States), antibiotic use is the equivalent of nearly 30 prescriptions per 100
persons per year. (The New England Journal of Medicine December 28, 2000)