U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week Set for November 18-24: CDC Theme Is 'Fighting Antimicrobial Resistance Takes All of Us'
U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week (USAAW) will be observed from November 18 to 24. Led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the annual observance focuses attention on a simple fact of modern medicine: antibiotics only keep working if they are used correctly, because misuse breeds drug-resistant bacteria that can leave infections untreatable. CDC's theme for this year's week is 'Fighting Antimicrobial Resistance Takes All of Us.'
Antimicrobial resistance ranks among CDC's most urgent public health threats. The agency estimates that more than 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur in the United States each year, and more than 35,000 people die as a result. Antibiotics do nothing against viral illnesses such as colds and flu, yet those remain a common source of unnecessary prescriptions — and every unneeded course helps select for and spread resistant bacteria.
The week is organized around a One Health message: the health of people, animals and the shared environment is interconnected, and antibiotic use and resistance span clinics, farms and ecosystems alike. The U.S. observance runs in parallel with World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week, led by the World Health Organization, whose global theme for 2026 is 'One Health, one action: Prevent AMR now.'
State health agencies are joining in. The Minnesota Department of Health, for example, has updated its USAAW page (last updated October 28) and will host midday webinars on November 18 and 19 for clinicians and the public on improving antibiotic use.
CDC's advice to the public is straightforward: do not pressure a clinician for antibiotics you may not need; take prescribed antibiotics exactly as directed and finish the course; never share antibiotics or take someone else's leftovers; and wash hands and stay up to date on vaccines to prevent infections in the first place. Careful prescribing on one side and correct use on the other — that, CDC says, is what 'takes all of us' means.
(Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 抗生素药物（资料图）。图片来自 Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。 / Antibiotic pills (file photo). Image via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
