Antibiotic use in humans and bacterial resistance

As with any public health problem, the evolution of antibacterial resistanc e must be viewed from a perspective of risk, and analysed in terms of proba bilities within the populations. It is necessary to be able to predict the risk of antibacterial resistance, in the future, and two main strategies ha ve recently been developed in mathematical models that may help to evaluate these risks. It is also important to understand how antibiotics are used a nd how their use affects the evolution of antibacterial resistance. Underst anding the epidemiology of antibacterial resistance will enable us to devel op preventive strategies to limit existing resistance and to avoid the emer gence of new strains of resistant bacteria.