DURHAM, NC – Antibiotic resistant infections raise U.S. healthcare costs by up to $26 billion a year, says a new study partly funded by French-based bioMeriux’s Durham, NC operation.

This study demonstrates the enormous cost savings that could be realized, for both the healthcare system and to individuals and their families. These costs will only continue to increase if we don’t amend our behavior and practice a more prudent usage of antibiotics,” said Dr. Stuart Levy, professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and co-founder and president of The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics.

The study, called “Hospital and Societal Costs of Antimicrobial Resistant Infections in a Chicago Teaching Hospital: Implications for Antibiotic Stewardship,” was published in the Oct. 15 issues of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

In addition to the costs to the health care system, the antibiotic infections resulted in twice the mortality rate of patients without them.

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