Press Centre

Quotes and Comments

"Although the news is good, our biggest threat right now is complacency. Antibiotic resistance is a problem that will always be with us. If we don't maintain our vigilance, it will come back and bite us."

Dr. Allison McGeer,
Director of Infection Control at Mount Sinai
Hospital in Toronto and co-investigator, CBSN
(NIPA press release, February 25, 2003)

"The genie is out of the bottle... it will happen again... the only question is when and where."

Dr. Donald Low
Chief Microbiologist,
Mount Sinai Hospital (Toronto)
(Response to first case of resistance to Vancomycin
reported by Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA,
The Toronto Star, August 3, 2002, Section A, Pg 1)

"We're not at the point where all antibiotics are useless, that's overstating it...But there's no question we have a problem with increasing bacterial resistance to current antibiotics"

Dr. Andrew Simor
Infectious Disease Specialist, Mount Sinai Hospital
(The Toronto Star, August 3, 2002, Section A, Pg 1)

"We know there's a correlation between understaffing and increased infection rates. With cuts in the number of full-time nurses, they're so busy that hygiene falls by the wayside."

Dr. John Conly
Director, Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance, University of Calgary
(The Toronto Star, August 3, 2002, Section A, Pg 1)

"It's clear that the majority of Canadians now understand the issue, but there are still some important misconceptions about antibiotic resistance and the use of antibiotics."

Dr. Ronald Grossman
Chief of Medicine, Credit Valley Hospital (Mississauga)
Chair of the National Information Program on Antibiotics (NIPA)
(NIPA Press Conference January 29, 2002)

"The primary cause for the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance is the inappropriate use of antibiotics."

Dr. Donald Low
Chief Microbiologist, Mount Sinai Hospital (Toronto)
(NIPA Press Release January 23, 2001)