Dr Jerome Adams on how a public health crisis was not lost on Trump during presidential debate

Trump has appointed a surgeon general who says US must step up fight against antimicrobial resistance, a global health crisis which he says is ‘one of our greatest health challenges’

Dr Jerome Adams on how a public health crisis was not lost on Trump during presidential debate

President Donald Trump has appointed a surgeon general who says the US must step up its fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a global health crisis which he says is “one of our greatest health challenges”.

Trump, the first president in more than a decade to appoint a surgeon general, is expected to unveil the appointment, at a White House event on Friday. A surgeon general is the first federal official responsible for ensuring the quality and safety of US healthcare.

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After taking office, Trump tweeted: “A great & great & great tradition was not only completely forgotten, but left behind much for fear of being attacked for such protection and establishment of superior health care! The major mistake & pain suffered by many & hated by many during World War I was due, in large part, to the lack of knowledge of disease by leadership in our country!”

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) A great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great & great @MeIberiabiragon 2017

In a letter announcing the new appointment, Adams, president and CEO of Baylor College of Medicine, said the US government must take action.

“The rise of drug-resistant infections that threatens public health is one of our greatest health challenges,” he wrote in a letter to colleagues, obtained by the Washington Post, that was posted online Friday.

The US has made “significant strides” in recent years, Adams added, despite “challenges that remain and infections that are getting worse”.

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While US infections are moving in the right direction, the health secretary, Alex Azar, said in a letter to physicians and public health advocates last week that it is not enough.

“After several years of progress, some infections are moving backwards,” he wrote. “We know they are resistant to multiple medications, and they are less likely to be detected or isolated quickly.”

In a blog post published on Thursday, Adams wrote: “The future will demand innovative new solutions and an aggressive political response in the US to ensure that society’s well-being is not compromised.”

The US under Trump has slashed funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and dropped an anti-viral vaccine and six of its 16 vaccines from a campaign to stockpile life-saving vaccines in an event that the public health agency said would save lives.

The president, who has made healthcare and infectious disease appear similar in focus, also resurrected a “vaccine-autism” conspiracy.

On Thursday, an anti-vaccination blogger said it was “divine providence” that Adams’ grandfather had fallen ill, the New York Times reported.

Trump has also rescinded two Obama-era memorandums, which the Times said could reduce the risk of potential outbreaks due to climate change and associated extreme weather, among other things.

During the presidential debate, Trump said the public health crisis would not have been missed by him.

“This, as I have said, has never been a bigger problem in the history of the world,” he said. “And one of the reasons that my opponent wanted me to bring up the fact that she was a doctor … but that was OK. That was not a big thing. I just wanted to tell you that I believe that it is a huge problem, and I can tell you it’s not going to be OK.”

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