CNN) -- The rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria could lead to a future full of untreatable infections, experts have warned us for years.
Now the Obama administration is stepping up its efforts to combat the rising problem of antibiotic resistance. The President signed an executive order Thursday establishing a new inter-agency task force charged with developing a national strategy to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Dr. John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and assistant to the President, said the problem is a serious challenge to public health and national security.
"We are clearly in a fight against ... bacteria where no permanent treatment is possible."
The task force will be co-chaired by the secretaries of Health & Human Services, the Department of Defense and the Department of Agriculture. The task force must submit its national action plan to the President by February 15, 2015.
The order also established a Presidential Advisory Council made up of nongovernmental experts who will provide advice and recommendations to strengthen surveillance of infections, research new treatments and develop alternatives to antibiotics for use in agriculture.
On Thursday, the administration released "National Strategy on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria," a five-year plan to prevent and contain outbreaks and develop the next generation of tests, antibiotics and vaccines.
The President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology -- known as PCAST -- also released a report on combating antibiotic resistance.
