The Obama administration has taken action to curb the perils of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which takes at least 23,000 lives and causes two million illnesses in the U.S. every year.

After years of experts warning of a potential future filled with untreatable infections due to the rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria, Obama is employing strong efforts to combat the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance. An executive order was signed by the President on Thursday putting a new inter-agency task force in place to develop a plan to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

The President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology (PCAST) also released a report regarding the fight against antibiotic resistance.

Three key components make up the report: Improve vigilance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria; extend shelf life of antibiotics, develop new ones, and promote increase clinical trials; and increase economic incentives to create new antibiotics.

A $20 million prize will be given to expedite the development of rapid diagnostic tests for health care practitioners to identify highly resistant bacterial infections.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classified antibiotic-resistant superbugs for the first time last year, and stressed how dangerous they were. They were ranked according to the number of people getting sick, how many hospitalizations occurred as a result, and the number of deaths attributed to them.

The way people think about antibiotics – including doctors, farmers, health systems and the public – needs to change. Any inappropriate use must be avoided in order to help reduce drug-resistant bacterial infections, and to better control illnesses as a result of these superbugs.