New report calls for dropping ‘apocalyptic’ language on antibiotic resistance 

A new report from the Wellcome Trust finds that although “apocalyptic” messages about antimicrobial resistance can work to capture people’s attention, such messages lack credibility. The report therefore recommends reframing the problem of antibiotic resistance as undermining modern medicine, in which drugs that once worked to kill bacteria are no longer effective. The report also calls for explaining the underlying concepts more succinctly, including the fact that microbes — and not people — are what develop resistance. Also worth emphasizing, according to Wellcome, is the fact that resistance is already having an impact now, and isn’t something that’s only going to be a future issue. To that end, the report also encourages framing the problem as solvable so people are inspired to take immediate action.