Antibiotic-resistant bacteria — so-called “superbugs” — pose a severe public health crisis. The World Health Organization warned in a recent report that a “post-antibiotic era — in which common infections and minor injuries can kill — is a very real possibility for the 21st century.” With a recent superbug infection at a Los Angeles hospital, Rising Plague: The Global Threat from Deadly Bacteria and Our Dwindling Arsenal to Fight Them, a 2009 examination of the crisis, is a valuable primer on our current predicament.

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