Science | antibiotics Superbugs May Push Us Into World Without Antibiotics Return to 'preantibiotic era' may be inevitable By Drew Nelles Posted Aug 7, 2008 1:11 PM CDT Copied Matt Redinbo, professor of chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill, holds a bacterial enzyme that he is trying to inhibit to kill drug-resistant microbes, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Jonathan Fredin) See 1 more photo Antibiotic-resistant microbes don’t just open us up to dangerous illnesses—they also cost the American economy well over $5 billion annually, the New Yorker reports. And one expert says around 70% of the antibiotics produced in the US wind up in agriculture: "We've created a petri dish in our factory farms for the evolution of dangerous pathogens." A group of researchers reports that, with cases of untreatable infection on the rise, a “return to the preantibiotic era has become a reality in many parts of the world.” Experts are working hard to come up with alternatives to antibiotics, but it’s not easy. “As loud as my voice might be, there are louder voices screaming ‘AIDS,’ ” one says. Read These Next Trumps ends trade talks with Canada. Gavin Newsom has filed a massive lawsuit against Fox News. Supreme Court is a yes on age checks for porn sites. President Trump celebrates a 'giant' Supreme Court win. See 1 more photo Report an error