made modern surgery possible.
Operations that are routine today would have been fatal a century ago.
Bacteria, however, faster than the industry develops new drugs.
Every unnecessary course of antibiotics selects for the that survive it.
In many countries the drugs are still sold without a .
Patients stop as soon as they feel better, which leaves the strongest bacteria behind.
Farming uses even larger quantities to speed growth in healthy animals.
bacteria then reach people through food, water and workers.
Meanwhile the commercial case for new antibiotics is weak.
A successful new drug must be used as rarely as possible, so it earns little.
Several governments now pay a fixed sum for access rather than per .
Hospitals also record every and review it after two days.
Neither measure is dramatic, and both buy time that research still needs.