[Applause]
one defining moment ten years ago forced
me to grasp the dire crisis of
antibiotic resistance it jolted me into
action
to learn as much as I could about what
we are up against I have not shared this
story with anyone before because I
wanted to bury my emotional response see
I did not see a value in dwelling upon
it I do now without being aware of it
these emotions were fueling my passion
and I hope that by sharing this moment
with you you too can feel inspired to
take action my story takes place during
my first year clinical residency in the
hospital that’s when and where I met
Jonathan I remember him quite vividly he
was 27 years old and he just got married
he was telling me all about his
honeymoon in the Cayman Islands the zip
lining the romantic dinners on the beach
something I could only dream of back
then when he got back from his honeymoon
he went skiing and while doing one of
those flips thinking he was in the
Olympics he broke his left femur and
that’s the strongest bone in the body
connecting the hip to the knee this
required surgery his operation went well
but a few days later he woke up to
severe pain in his left hip it was
completely swollen bright red and hot to
the touch his diagnosis a bloodstream
infection he was placed on a initial
course of antibiotics but I had to wait
a few days before receiving the final
microbiology lab report back confirming
which antibiotics the bacteria would
even respond
to being a young clinician at that time
I remember thinking I got this simple
he’s young and otherwise healthy he is
going to respond or be susceptible to
any antibiotic he is going to be just
fine day three or four I checked in on
Jonathan during my daily rounds in the
hospital and I remember him telling me
that he felt like his entire body was
just deteriorating that’s around the
same day that his infection spread to
his brain and his lab report came back I
looked at that computer screen trying to
figure out how to treat this infection
but there was the letter R for resistant
written next to every single antibiotic
meaning that the bacteria would not even
ar-ar-ar where was the US for
susceptible what are we going to tell
Jonathan never made it to his one-year
wedding anniversary this experience
fundamentally changed the course of my
personal and professional life it was a
pivotal moment that led me into
specializing in infectious disease
research and eventually defending my
thesis on the exact resistant pathogen
that consumed Jonathan here I stand now
over 30 research papers deep and serving
as one of the u.s. ambassadors to lead
this global fight against antibiotic
resistance and this is where you come in
I need your help
in this fight I am going to arm you with
three action items that you can start
implementing today to make an impact and
to reduce the deadly effects of
antibiotic resistance but before we get
to these three action items I think it’s
important for you to understand some of
the science behind antibiotic resistance
the story starts in the 1920s
with the discovery of penicillin by
Alexander Fleming penicillin was not
distributed to the general public until
the 1940s it was considered the miracle
drug sold over-the-counter and overused
only one year later the first person
developed penicillin resistance and by
the 1950s this resistance was widespread
we have seen the same trend with other
antibiotics in fact antibiotics or the
only drug where every time each one of
us uses it it becomes less and less
effective not only in us but in those
that have not even been exposed to the
drug knowing a little more about
bacteria will help you understand why
bacteria all around us they have been in
existence for over 3.5 billion years and
it only takes them about 30 minutes to
multiply due to random natural mutations
some bacteria are resistant to
antibiotics when exposed to antibiotics
the susceptible bacteria die but the
resistant bacteria survive these
resistant bacteria now have room to
thrive and multiply and can transfer
part of their DNA to other bacteria and
this is how antibiotic resistance
spreads Jonathan represents just one of
the 700,000 people per year worldwide
that
have died due to antibiotic resistant
infections looking into the future if we
continue on the current trajectory 10
million people per year will die due to
these resistant infections by the year
2050 10 million that’s one person dying
every three seconds well remember
Alexander Fleming the guy that invented
penicillin he predicted this very
situation we’re and now over 70 years
ago see he understood because the very
nature of bacteria are to mutate
antibiotic resistance was inevitable we
are now living in the aftermath of
overuse a simple cut could have you
fighting for your life or common
surgeries could start looking like
Russian roulette
are you worried yet I am well as
promised here are the three action items
that you can start implementing today
first stop buying meat raised with
almost 80% of all antibiotics in the
United States are not taken by people
but they are used in animals in 2013
over 130,000 tons of antibiotics were
used in animals worldwide this number is
projected to exceed 200,000 tons by the
year 2030 let me put this number in
perspective for you
an elephant weighs about six tons this
number is equivalent to around 34,000
elephants
antibiotics are primarily given to
animals as growth promoters well we may
not directly take in those antibiotics
we do ingest the bacteria within those
animals so if those animals were
carrying antibiotic resistant bacteria
that would be transferred to you and the
rest of the environment including the
water the soil and the air that we
breathe here comes the solution part if
you are buying meat check the label on
that package to make sure that it states
either one USDA Organic or – raised
without antibiotics or no antibiotics
administered accompanied by a USDA
process verified shield if you are
dining at a restaurant or a fast food
chain check the menu to make sure that
the meat is antibiotic free if it is not
stated on the menu ask a worker at that
restaurant second use antibiotics
sparingly in just the outpatient setting
alone over 250 million courses of
antibiotics or dispensed per year and
about one third of these are in
appropriate by
appropriate I mean that they’re being
used to treat viruses antibiotics only
work against bacteria and have no effect
against viruses so the next time you’re
coughing sneezing or have a cold do not
insist on a prescription for an
antibiotic
instead drink fluids and get plenty of
rest the next time your kids ear hurts
do not insist on a prescription for an
antibiotic without knowing what caused
it
likewise if your doctor gives you a
prescription for an antibiotic to
understand why that antibiotic is being
given to you do not be timid about
asking if you feel you really need them
and the last action item is to educate
yourselves and most importantly tell
everyone around you
aye sir francis bacon said knowledge
itself is power you can educate
yourselves by going to websites such as
the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and the World Health
Organization where you can learn more
about what appropriate antibiotic usage
is you can educate others by spreading
the word from what you learn through
these websites by sharing Jonathan’s
story by sharing this TED talk or by
sharing your own personal story with
friends family members co-workers and
everyone else around you and so I will
leave you with this I once heard a
speech by political activists and Nobel
Prize winner Jody Williams in it she
said emotion without action is
as I was putting this talk together all
of the emotions I felt when Jonathan
past came back the powerlessness the
hopelessness the anxiousness the pain
the sadness perhaps some of you are
feeling some emotions right now and are
ready to translate those into action the
day that Jonathan passed I happened to
be walking past his hospital room and I
caught a glimpse of his parents and his
wife grabbing on to his hands as he took
his last breath this image stays with me
to this day these emotions and
Jonathan’s story or what continue to
fuel my actions and this is why I am
standing right here in front of you
today I am asking each one of you to
take action now in this crisis that we
are facing the future is a place that
you get to create if we all work
together we can have a future where
antibiotics can still save lives thank
you
[Applause] you
one defining moment ten years ago forced
me to grasp the dire crisis of
antibiotic resistance it jolted me into
action
to learn as much as I could about what
we are up against I have not shared this
story with anyone before because I
wanted to bury my emotional response see
I did not see a value in dwelling upon
it I do now without being aware of it
these emotions were fueling my passion
and I hope that by sharing this moment
with you you too can feel inspired to
take action my story takes place during
my first year clinical residency in the
hospital that’s when and where I met
Jonathan I remember him quite vividly he
was 27 years old and he just got married
he was telling me all about his
honeymoon in the Cayman Islands the zip
lining the romantic dinners on the beach
something I could only dream of back
then when he got back from his honeymoon
he went skiing and while doing one of
those flips thinking he was in the
Olympics he broke his left femur and
that’s the strongest bone in the body
connecting the hip to the knee this
required surgery his operation went well
but a few days later he woke up to
severe pain in his left hip it was
completely swollen bright red and hot to
the touch his diagnosis a bloodstream
infection he was placed on a initial
course of antibiotics but I had to wait
a few days before receiving the final
microbiology lab report back confirming
which antibiotics the bacteria would
even respond
to being a young clinician at that time
I remember thinking I got this simple
he’s young and otherwise healthy he is
going to respond or be susceptible to
any antibiotic he is going to be just
fine day three or four I checked in on
Jonathan during my daily rounds in the
hospital and I remember him telling me
that he felt like his entire body was
just deteriorating that’s around the
same day that his infection spread to
his brain and his lab report came back I
looked at that computer screen trying to
figure out how to treat this infection
but there was the letter R for resistant
written next to every single antibiotic
meaning that the bacteria would not even
ar-ar-ar where was the US for
susceptible what are we going to tell
Jonathan never made it to his one-year
wedding anniversary this experience
fundamentally changed the course of my
personal and professional life it was a
pivotal moment that led me into
specializing in infectious disease
research and eventually defending my
thesis on the exact resistant pathogen
that consumed Jonathan here I stand now
over 30 research papers deep and serving
as one of the u.s. ambassadors to lead
this global fight against antibiotic
resistance and this is where you come in
I need your help
in this fight I am going to arm you with
three action items that you can start
implementing today to make an impact and
to reduce the deadly effects of
antibiotic resistance but before we get
to these three action items I think it’s
important for you to understand some of
the science behind antibiotic resistance
the story starts in the 1920s
with the discovery of penicillin by
Alexander Fleming penicillin was not
distributed to the general public until
the 1940s it was considered the miracle
drug sold over-the-counter and overused
only one year later the first person
developed penicillin resistance and by
the 1950s this resistance was widespread
we have seen the same trend with other
antibiotics in fact antibiotics or the
only drug where every time each one of
us uses it it becomes less and less
effective not only in us but in those
that have not even been exposed to the
drug knowing a little more about
bacteria will help you understand why
bacteria all around us they have been in
existence for over 3.5 billion years and
it only takes them about 30 minutes to
multiply due to random natural mutations
some bacteria are resistant to
antibiotics when exposed to antibiotics
the susceptible bacteria die but the
resistant bacteria survive these
resistant bacteria now have room to
thrive and multiply and can transfer
part of their DNA to other bacteria and
this is how antibiotic resistance
spreads Jonathan represents just one of
the 700,000 people per year worldwide
that
have died due to antibiotic resistant
infections looking into the future if we
continue on the current trajectory 10
million people per year will die due to
these resistant infections by the year
2050 10 million that’s one person dying
every three seconds well remember
Alexander Fleming the guy that invented
penicillin he predicted this very
situation we’re and now over 70 years
ago see he understood because the very
nature of bacteria are to mutate
antibiotic resistance was inevitable we
are now living in the aftermath of
overuse a simple cut could have you
fighting for your life or common
surgeries could start looking like
Russian roulette
are you worried yet I am well as
promised here are the three action items
that you can start implementing today
first stop buying meat raised with
almost 80% of all antibiotics in the
United States are not taken by people
but they are used in animals in 2013
over 130,000 tons of antibiotics were
used in animals worldwide this number is
projected to exceed 200,000 tons by the
year 2030 let me put this number in
perspective for you
an elephant weighs about six tons this
number is equivalent to around 34,000
elephants
antibiotics are primarily given to
animals as growth promoters well we may
not directly take in those antibiotics
we do ingest the bacteria within those
animals so if those animals were
carrying antibiotic resistant bacteria
that would be transferred to you and the
rest of the environment including the
water the soil and the air that we
breathe here comes the solution part if
you are buying meat check the label on
that package to make sure that it states
either one USDA Organic or – raised
without antibiotics or no antibiotics
administered accompanied by a USDA
process verified shield if you are
dining at a restaurant or a fast food
chain check the menu to make sure that
the meat is antibiotic free if it is not
stated on the menu ask a worker at that
restaurant second use antibiotics
sparingly in just the outpatient setting
alone over 250 million courses of
antibiotics or dispensed per year and
about one third of these are in
appropriate by
appropriate I mean that they’re being
used to treat viruses antibiotics only
work against bacteria and have no effect
against viruses so the next time you’re
coughing sneezing or have a cold do not
insist on a prescription for an
antibiotic
instead drink fluids and get plenty of
rest the next time your kids ear hurts
do not insist on a prescription for an
antibiotic without knowing what caused
it
likewise if your doctor gives you a
prescription for an antibiotic to
understand why that antibiotic is being
given to you do not be timid about
asking if you feel you really need them
and the last action item is to educate
yourselves and most importantly tell
everyone around you
aye sir francis bacon said knowledge
itself is power you can educate
yourselves by going to websites such as
the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and the World Health
Organization where you can learn more
about what appropriate antibiotic usage
is you can educate others by spreading
the word from what you learn through
these websites by sharing Jonathan’s
story by sharing this TED talk or by
sharing your own personal story with
friends family members co-workers and
everyone else around you and so I will
leave you with this I once heard a
speech by political activists and Nobel
Prize winner Jody Williams in it she
said emotion without action is
as I was putting this talk together all
of the emotions I felt when Jonathan
past came back the powerlessness the
hopelessness the anxiousness the pain
the sadness perhaps some of you are
feeling some emotions right now and are
ready to translate those into action the
day that Jonathan passed I happened to
be walking past his hospital room and I
caught a glimpse of his parents and his
wife grabbing on to his hands as he took
his last breath this image stays with me
to this day these emotions and
Jonathan’s story or what continue to
fuel my actions and this is why I am
standing right here in front of you
today I am asking each one of you to
take action now in this crisis that we
are facing the future is a place that
you get to create if we all work
together we can have a future where
antibiotics can still save lives thank
you
[Applause] you
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