HHS, PUBLIC HEALTH PARTNERS UNVEIL NEW CAMPAIGN
TO PROMOTE AWARENESS OF PROPER ANTIBIOTIC USE

The Department of Health and Human Services and a consortium of national health
organizations today urged consumers to be cautious about their use of antibiotics as the cold and flu season approaches. Officials stressed that antibiotics are ineffective treatment for viruses, such as those that cause colds and flu, and that inappropriate antibiotic use — particularly among children — is contributing to an alarming growth of global antibiotic resistance.

“Antibiotics show amazing results when used to treat bacterial infections, but they won’t help at
all against the common cold or flu,” Surgeon General Richard Carmona said. “What’s worse, if people take antibiotics when they don’t need them, it can make these important drugs less effective in the future. This is part of health literacy and closing the gap between what health-care professionals know and what Americans understand.”

The message is part of a new national campaign unveiled by HHS’ Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and major national health
organizations in Chicago today.

“Antibiotics are powerful drugs. In fact, sometimes we imagine they are wonder drugs that can treat any infections,” said CDC Director Julie Gerberding, M.D. “But the truth is antibiotics only work against bacteria, not the viruses that cause colds and flu,” she added. “It’s so important to get smart about antibiotic use and work with your doctor to get the right remedy during this cold and flu season.”

Antibiotic resistance can cause significant danger and suffering for children and adults who have
common infections that were once easily treatable with antibiotics. Over the last decade, almost every type of bacteria has become stronger and less responsive to antibiotic treatment when it is really needed. These antibiotic-resistant bacteria can quickly spread to family members, school mates, and co-workers — threatening the community with a new strain of infectious disease that is more difficult to cure and more expensive to treat.

CDC, FDA, and an alliance of partners including national health organizations, state and local
health departments, managed care organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and other groups concerned about this problem, hope to reverse the public perception that ‘antibiotics cure everything’ by unveiling a public health campaign, Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work, today at the American Society of Microbiology’s 43^rd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. The campaign relies on featuring a series of television, radio, and print public service announcements and comprehensive national, state, and local outreach. The campaign aims to better inform Americans about when antibiotic treatment is warranted.

“We are pleased to be partnering with CDC on this very important health message. By joining
our efforts with those at the state level and private sector we hope that more people will begin to
understand the importance of prudent antibiotic use. This campaign will help ensure that antibiotics continue to save lives,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Mark B. McClellan said.

According to the CDC, tens of millions of the antibiotics are prescribed in doctors’ offices for
viral infections that are not treatable with antibiotics. Doctors cite diagnostic uncertainty, time pressure, and patient demand as the primary reasons for their tendency to over-prescribe antibiotics.

“Our first step toward correcting the problem is to build public knowledge and awareness of
when antibiotics work — and when they don’t,” said Richard Besser, M.D., CDC’s medical director of the campaign. “We want Americans to keep their families and communities healthy by getting smart about the proper use of antibiotics.”

The campaign is being supported by many public health groups, including the American
Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family
Physicians, the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics and Council for Affordable Quality
Healthcare.

###

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at www.hhs.gov/news

September 17, 2003
Contact: CDC, Division of Media Relations
(404) 639-3286

Dr. Richard Besser, MD, Medical Director, Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work campaign; acting chief of the Meningitis and Special Pathogens Branch in the National Center for Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Peter J. Pitts, Associate FDA Commissioner for External Relations, Food and Drug Administration

Michael O. Fleming, M.D., president-elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians; family physician in Shreveport, La.

Dr. Margaret B. Rennels, MD, FAAP, Professor of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine

A video on this subject will be fed via satellite at 2:00 p.m. The coordinates are as
follows:
Telstar 6, C Band
Transponder 9
Dual audio 6.2/6.8

ICAAC Session of Special Interest: Dr. Karen Kiang’s poster on “Changes in Knowledge and Decisions Among Primary Care Clinicians Regarding Antibiotic Use for Upper Respiratory Infections — Wisconsin versus Minnesota, 1999-2002” (Session 159, L-1602)

For more information about antibiotic resistance and the Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work campaign, please call (404) 371-5416 or visit www.cdc.gov/getsmart.

CDC protects people's health and safety by preventing and controlling diseases and injuries; enhances health decisions by providing credible information on critical health issues; and promotes healthy living through strong partnerships with local, national, and international organizations.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

CAMPAIGN PARTNERS
CDC, joined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and an alliance of partners including
national health organizations, state and local health departments, managed care organizations,
pharmaceutical companies, and other groups concerned about this problem, hope to reverse
the public perception that ‘antibiotics cure everything’ by unveiling a public health campaign, Get
Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work. Additional information about the campaign’s founding
partners is provided below.

Food and Drug Administration
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is under the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. The mission of the FDA is to promote and protect the public health by helping safe
and effective products reach the market in a timely way, and monitoring products for continued
safety after they are in use.

Press: For more information about FDA, contact Sherunda Lister at 301-827-1669
listers@cder.fda.gov and visit www.fda.gov.

American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). AAFP represents more than 94,300
physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical specialty society devoted
solely to primary care. Family physicians provide comprehensive care to all members of the
family and serve as the patient’s advocate in the health-care system. Family physicians are the
only specialists qualified to treat most ailments, and to provide comprehensive health care for
people of all ages. In fact, almost 200 million office visits are made to family physicians each
year. This is 75 million more visits than to any other medical specialty.

Press: For more information about AAFP, contact Karen Siebert at 913-906-6000, ext. 5221
(ksiebert@aafp.org) and visit www.aafp.org.

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The AAP is an organization of 57,000 primary care
pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists, and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the
health, safety, and well being of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. It was
founded in June 1930 by 35 pediatricians who met in Detroit in response to the need for an
independent pediatric forum to address children's needs. When the AAP was established, the
idea that children have special developmental and health needs was a new one. Preventive
health practices now associated with child care – such as immunizations and regular health
exams – were only just beginning to change the custom of treating children as "miniature
adults."

Press: For more information about AAP, contact Carolyn Kolbaba at 847-434-7945
(ckolbaba@aap.org) and visit www.aap.org.

The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA). Founded in 1981, APUA’s mission
is to improve infectious disease treatment and contain antibiotic resistance by promoting
antibiotic access and improving antibiotic use worldwide. A nonprofit organization, it is
committed to improving health policy and clinical practice worldwide through research and
education of consumers and practitioners. With chapters in 46 countries, APUA provides
clinical and scientific leadership to prevent antibiotic resistance and strengthen society’s
defenses against infectious diseases throughout the world.

Press: For more information from APUA, contact Stefanie Valovic at 617-636-3574
(stefanie.valovic@tufts.edu) and visit www.apua.org.

American Medical Association (AMA). AMA is the nation’s leader in promoting
professionalism in medicine and setting standards for medical education, practice, and ethics.
As the largest physician membership organization in the United States, the AMA has been on
the forefront of every major development in American medicine since it was founded in 1847.
The AMA is ranked by members of Congress and the federal government as the most influential
health care organization in the country.

Press: For more information from AMA, contact Ross Fraser at 312-464-4443
(Ross_Fraser@ama-assn.org) and visit www.ama-assn.org.

Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH). CAQH is a nonprofit alliance of health
plans and networks that promotes collaborative initiatives to help make healthcare more
affordable; share knowledge to improve the quality of care; and make administration easier for
physicians and their patients. Created in 1999, CAQH provides and administers health care
coverage for more than 100 million Americans. Through its Save Antibiotic Strength (SAS)
Initiative, CAQH partners with CDC and other leading community and health care organizations
to help preserve and protect the effectiveness of antibiotics. SAS includes educational
programs and materials for consumers, physicians, and other healthcare providers. In 2003,
CAQH introduced the SAS Employer Program to help companies educate employees about the
proper use of antibiotics.
Press: for more information from CAQH, contact Barbara Souder at 202-778-1145
(barbara.souder@tufts.edu) and visit www.caqh.org.

# # #

SPEAKER BIOS

Richard Besser, MD
Dr. Besser is medical director of the Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work campaign. He
also serves as acting chief of the Meningitis and Special Pathogens Branch in the National
Center for Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Dr. Besser received his bachelor of arts degree in economics from Williams College in
Williamstown, Massachusetts and his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He
completed a residency and chief residency in Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in
Baltimore, Maryland. He trained in epidemiology as part of the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence
Service. Before joining the respiratory diseases branch, Dr. Besser was director of the
combined internal medicine and pediatrics residency programs at the University of California,
San Diego.

Dr. Besser has authored and/or coauthored more than 50 research papers and book chapters.
During the 2001 anthrax attack he worked as CDC liaison to the FBI in Florida and on the
investigative team in Washington, DC.

Peter J. Pitts
Mr. Pitts is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s associate commissioner for External
Relations. An author and expert in strategic communications and marketing, he most recently
served as a managing partner of Wired World, a firm specializing in solving marketing problems,
generating strategic ideas, and stimulating growth. Mr. Pitts is the senior communications
adviser to FDA Commissioner Mark B. McClellan and provides executive-level policy and
program direction for FDA's interactions, information exchanges, and liaison activities with the
agency's stakeholders and other external audiences. He supervises FDA's Office of Public
Affairs, Office of the Ombudsman, Office of Special Health Issues, Office of Executive
Secretariat, and Advisory Committee Oversight and Management Staff.

Mr. Pitts’ previous posts include vice president of Marketing and Communications at Hudson
Institute, director of marketing for the Washington Times and Insight Magazine, director of
marketing at the New York Post, creative services director at McCall's magazine, assistant
creative director at Reader's Digest, and marketing manager for Cable Health Network. His
most recent book, Become Strategic or Die, is a study of successful leadership based on
strategic vision and ethical practice.

A graduate of McGill University, in 1998 Mr. Pitts was selected one of Indianapolis' 40 Under 40
by the Indianapolis Business Journal.

Michael Fleming, MD
Dr. Fleming, a family physician in Shreveport, La., is president-elect of the American Academy
of Family Physicians' (AAFP). AAFP's governing body, the Congress of Delegates, elected him
to this position during the organization's October 2002 annual meeting. Previously, Dr. Fleming
served for three years as speaker of the Congress of Delegates. AAFP represents more than
94,300 physicians and medical students nationwide.

In the private practice of family medicine, Dr. Fleming is managing senior partner for The Family
Doctors in Shreveport, a group practice of ten family physicians. He also is assistant clinical
professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the Louisiana State University Health
Science Center and in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Tulane University
Medical School.

Active on numerous committees for AAFP, Dr. Fleming addresses issues in the areas of health
education, finance and insurance, governance, and member participation. He previously served
as AAFP's vice speaker and is a former chair of the Task Force on AAFP/Chapter Relations and
the Committee on Public Relations and Marketing.

Dr. Fleming is a past president of the Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians, a constituent
chapter of AAFP. He also is past chair of the Board of Directors for the Louisiana Academy of
Family Physicians Foundation, the charitable arm of the organization. Dr. Fleming was honored
as Louisiana Family Doctor of the Year in 1996.

Margaret B. Rennels, MD, FAAP
Dr. Rennels, has been a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on
Infectious Diseases since 1999 and is currently serving as Chair of the Committee. She is
professor of pediatrics, clinical head of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical
Pediatrics, and chief of the pediatric clinical studies section of the Center for Vaccine
Development at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Dr. Rennels has been involved in the clinical development of pediatric vaccines. Her current
major interests are conjugate pneumococcal, conjugate meningococcal, and combination
vaccines. She has served as principal investigator for more than 30 clinical trials of vaccines;
written numerous articles and book chapters; and lectured widely on pediatric infectious
diseases and immunization.

# # #

Sniffle or Sneeze?
No Antibiotics Please

CDC advises parents about colds, flu and antibiotics

The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) has news
for parents this cold and flu season:
antibiotics don’t work for a cold
or the flu.

Antibiotics kill bacteria, not viruses.
And colds, flu and most sore throats are
caused by viruses. Antibiotics don’t
touch viruses — never have, never
will. And it’s not really news. It’s a
long-documented medical fact.

But tell that to parents seeking
relief for a child’s runny nose. Recent
research shows that most Americans
have either missed the message about
appropriate antibiotic use or they simply
don’t believe it. It’s a case of mistaken
popular belief winning out over fact.
According to recent public opinion
research, there is a perception that
“antibiotics cure everything.”

Americans believe in the power of
antibiotics so much that many patients
go to the doctor expecting to get
a prescription. And they do. Why?
Physicians often are too pressured for
time to engage in lengthy explanations
of why antibiotics won’t work. And,
when the diagnosis is uncertain — as
many symptoms for viral and bacterial
infections are similar — doctors are
more likely to yield to patient
demands for antibiotics.

Risk of antibiotic-resistance
The problem is, taking antibiotics when they are not needed can do more harm than good. Widespread inappropriate use of antibiotics is fueling an increase in drug-resistant bacteria.
And sick individuals aren’t the only people who can suffer the consequences. Families and entire communities feel the impact when disease-causing germs become resistant to antibiotics.

The most obvious consequence of inappropriate antibiotic use is its effect on the sick patient. When antibiotics are incorrectly used to treat children or adults with viral infections, such as colds
and flu, they aren’t getting the best care for their condition. A course of antibiotics
won’t fight the virus, make the patient feel better, yield a quicker recovery or keep others from getting sick.

A less obvious consequence of antibiotic overuse is the boost it gives to drug-resistant disease-causing bacteria. Over the last decade, almost every type of bacteria has become stronger and less responsive to antibiotic treatment when it really is needed. These antibiotic-resistant bacteria can quickly spread to family members, school mates and co-workers — threatening the community with a new strain of infectious disease that is more difficult to cure and more expensive to treat.

According to the CDC, antibiotic resistance is one of the world’s most pressing public health problems. Americans of all ages can lower this risk by talking to their doctors and using antibiotics appropriately during this cold and flu season.