How much should I be worried about antibiotic resistance?

Timothy Sly's answer is excellent. I'll add this: If all bacteria became resistant to all antibiotics, we would essentially revert to the world as it was in 1940, when there were no widely available antibiotics. Was the world facing an apocalyptic scenario then? Well, yes, but not because of bacterial infections. read more

You should be worried enough to be pushing for more R&D, more controlled use of antibiotics - especially in non infection related areas and more personal responsibility from all of us in not demanding antibiotics inappropriately. read more

The main threat we’re facing is that antibiotics will lose their effectiveness, as Public Health England has suggested, which will make a big difference to the way doctors practice medicine and how people are treated for certain illnesses. read more

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than two million Americans are sickened each year by antibiotic-resistant germs, and at least 23,000 of these people die from the infections. read more