Bugs, Drugs and Super-bugs

Public health officials don't want to "cry wolf" or frighten people more than needed. So, they don't often use apocalyptic language. That's why it's rare to hear the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn about an impending "nightmare"or his British counterpart talk about a threat comparable to "terrorism." But that's how they are describing the growing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics, which could set medicine back by a hundred years. Over-prescription by doctors and use in farm animals get part of the blame, and despite the need for new antibiotics, Big Pharma is cutting back on research and development. It's an all-too familiar problem that's becoming increasingly urgent. What will it take to solve it? What can we do in the meantime?