SUMMARY
In the U.S., 2 million people suffer from antibiotic-resistant infections every year and 23,000 die as a direct result.i When antibiotics fail, patients can suffer allergic reactions, severe diarrhea, dehydration, colitis, reproductive complications, and paralysis, among other complications, and even death.ii
An antibiotic-resistant infection doubles a patient’s hospital stay and increases their risk of death by 200%.iii Further, the cost of treating a patient with an antibiotic-resistant infection ranges from $18,558 to $29,069.iv Put another way, antibiotic-resistant infections cost U.S. taxpayers approximately $20 billion annually, and lost productivity costs for employers could be as high as $35 billion.