America’s primary care doctors are increasingly encountering bacterial and fungal infections that don’t respond to normal treatments. For instance, about one in five urinary tract infections now show reduced susceptibility to standard antibiotics. And over half of U.S. gonorrhea cases are now drug-resistant.

Nationwide, these sorts of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and fungi — often dubbed “superbugs” — kill tens of thousands of Americans each year. Antibiotic resistance alone plays a role in over 165,000 U.S. deaths annually. Worldwide, the problem is even more severe. Antimicrobial resistance contributes to almost 5 million deaths annually.

Read more in Medical Economics.