Upping its game against certain candida, tuberculosis and gonorrhea strains, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently allotted more than $200 million to help jurisdictions curtail both emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.
Regional and local level programs will use the funding — administered through the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (ELC) cooperative agreement — to combat the threat of antibiotic-resistant infections spread via foodborne ailments or health care facility settings.
"More than 23,000 people in the United States die each year from infections caused by antibiotic resistance," CDC Director Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald said. "CDC is committed to helping states and cities strengthen their ability to combat antibiotic resistance, and these funds will help state efforts to keep people safe."
Additionally, CDC is upgrading its Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory Network to expedite real-time communication of new developments. Data sharing can enable better outbreak response.
The 2017 investment will pay for more testing for drug-resistant candida auris fungi; create a national laboratory for TB, and help identification of gonorrhea trends. CDC noted that approximately 820,000 new cases of the latter are reported annually, with over 25 percent proving resistant to at least one antibiotic treatment.
Part of the ELC funding will also support scrutiny of influenza, parasitic, insect- and water-borne diseases, improved lab infrastructure, and nationwide communications.
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