Budget cuts threaten research on antimicrobial resistance

(HealthDay)—Proposed budget cuts could seriously hamper efforts to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR), according to an article published online Sept. 4 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Helen W. Boucher, M.D., from Tufts Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues discussed the impact that proposals by the Trump administration could have on efforts to combat the threat of increasing resistance to antimicrobial agents.

The authors write that the president's budget request, released in May, would reduce the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's AMR funding by 14 percent and place it within the Prevention and Public Health Fund, which the administration is seeking to repeal. The budget would also cut National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases funding, reducing development of new antimicrobial drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines. In addition, a proposed 51 percent cut to the U.S. Agency for International Development's global health programs would drastically impair the agency's ability to support antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention.

"Over the past two years, our nation's health experts and leaders have worked diligently to enable the United States to tackle AMR head-on. If now enacted, these proposed budget cuts would reverse this course, which would go against the widespread agreement of experts and be to the detriment of our nation," the authors write.

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