The World Health Organization says the number of drug-resistant bacteria continues to increase in many countries. Two years ago, Iowa officials developed a program to track antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the state.State Epidemiologist Patricia Quinlisk says while Iowa’s problem isn’t as big as those seen worldwide, it’s still something to be concerned about. The tracking program also included a plan to educate health care professionals and the public on ways to slow the problem. Quinlisk isn’t sure yet how successful the effort has been, because they’ve only got a year of data to work with.She says there’ve been a few signs the program is working.Such as in Sioux City were they’ve been successful in targeting and decreasing the amount of a certain type of antibiotic-resistance bacteria that’s responsible for a variety of illnesses. Quinlisk says one of the keys in keeping down the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is the proper use of antibiotics. She says you can help by not asking your doctor for drugs everytime you get a sniffle. She says taking antibiotics for viruses can actually make things worse since antibiotics don’t attack them.Eighty laboratories across the state are now submitting information to the state Hygienic Lab to track the antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
