Antimicrobial-resistant infections affect more than 2 million people annually in the United States alone, accounting for an estimated 23 000 deaths and estimated economic costs of $55 billion. Recent projections suggest that an estimated 300 million people worldwide could die prematurely in the next 35 years because of antimicrobial-resistant infections. Physicians are more frequently prescribing antibiotics of last resort (such as colistin and carbapenem), raising concerns that once-curable infections will have no viable treatments.

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