Did you know that each year there are over
154 million antibiotics prescribed by doctor’s offices and emergency rooms in
America? While some of these prescriptions are needed, it is estimated that 47
million of these are unnecessary and could be contributing to the growing
problem of antibiotic resistance throughout the world. Each year in the U.S. at
least 2 million people are infected with resistant bacteria and at least 23,000
die because of the infection. Bacteria that cause pneumonia,
tuberculosis, blood poisoning and gonorrhea are becoming more difficult to
treat and the list is continuing to grow. Antibiotic resistance occurs when an antibiotic
has lost its ability to effectively eliminate a bacterium. These resistant bacteria
will continue to not only thrive, but multiply even in the presence of the
therapeutic levels of an antibiotic. This is a major concern in the health
field because infections that were once easily treatable are now becoming incurable,
resulting in serious complications and sometimes even death.
In bacterial colonies, antibiotic resistance can
occur when bacteria change in ways that cause a decline in the effectiveness of
an antibiotic. Once this small number of bacterial cells become resistant to
the antibiotic they will survive and reproduce to create more bacterial cells
that are resistant to the bacteria. Another major concern, is the ability of
bacteria to obtain bacterial resistance from other bacteria. In some cases, the
bacteria transfer their genetic material, including genes encoding for resistance
to antibiotics, via a
mating process called conjugation from one bacteria to another. The
emergence of antibiotic resistance has occurred in part due to the misuse and
overuse of antibiotics in the healthcare field. Each time a person uses
antibiotics resistant bacteria is left behind, if these bacteria are left alone
they will continue multiply, and repopulate the environment. Once these
bacteria repopulate, another antibiotic will be prescribed which can cause the
process to repeat itself leading to multi-resistant bacteria or “super bugs.”
 |
| Colonies of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics (Right) compared to bacteria treated with bacteria in which they are killers (Left). |
Bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics
in many ways. Some bacteria can destroy the antibiotic by simply neutralizing
them which can make it harmful to the individual. Another method bacteria can
use is to prevent the antibiotic from getting to its target. This is done by
the bacteria pumping the antibiotic back outside of the cell before it takes it
effect on the bacteria. Bacteria can also change their targets by changing
their outside appearance so the antibiotic cannot bind to the target rendering
the antibiotic ineffective.
So, what is being done to prevent a world where antibiotic resistance bacteria are dominant? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and The World Health Organization (WHO) are working to improve awareness about antibiotic resistance and how healthcare professional can prevent antibiotic resistance. This awareness includes ways in to prevent different infection in the first place, and if an infection is established to create guidelines on how antibiotics should be prescribed and dispensed. The consequences of a continuing growth in antibiotic resistance will lead to the need for more expensive drugs, increase cost in health care, and possibly an increase in infections and death due to antibiotic resistance.
Bibliography
Center For
Disease Control . Antibiotic Resistance Questions and Answers. 25 September
2017. 22 October 2017. <https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/community/about/antibiotic-resistance-faqs.html>.
Kuiper,
Randy L. "Overuse of antibiotics leads to bacterial resistance." Great
Falls Tribune May 19 2014: 1-3.
Ventol, C.
Lee. "The Antibiotic Resistance Crisis." Pharmacy and Therapeutics
(2015): 227-283.
World
Health Organization . Antibiotic resistance. October 2017. 22 October
2017. <http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/antibiotic-resistance/en/>.
By: Maya Hines, MSMS Graduate Student
I agree that Antibiotic resistance has become one of the major problem now this days. Its very similar concept to development of super bug (insects, mosquito) using pesticides and eventually these bugs just becomes resistance to these pesticides. I like to add here that many time when doctor prescribe antibiotic they suggest completing the dose for certain amount of days, however many people stops taking pills after few days once they starts feeling better and this can lead to resistance since some bacteria will be left behind and re grow.
ReplyDeleteI find the idea of antibiotic resistance to be extremely frightening. We depend on them to keep a number of communicable diseases at bay. I think it is also concerning though how often antibiotics are used, it seems like every time a person goes to the doctor with a minor sinus infection, we are prescribed an antibiotic before even giving our body a chance to do what it does and fight it off. They are overprescribed and perhaps just a little too accessible which shortens the time we have before they develop a resistant strain.
ReplyDeleteIt's very scary see how heavily we depend on anti-biotics and just knowing what works today will not work maybe even 5 years from now. I do think it's important for us to figure out more reliable ways to treat bacterial infections without the use of antibiotics because inevitably they are becoming weak against these pathogens. It probably is a good idea to start limiting the amount of antibiotics we use to keep them functional for as long as possible.
ReplyDeleteAntibiotic resistance is literally a growing problem that raises a lot of concern. I am shook about the idea that bacterial infections will no longer take to treatments given. The risk for a simple infection to become a super bug is increasing with every year. Limiting the amount of antibiotics we use seems to be the only suitable choice in decreasing the rate of resistance.
ReplyDeleteI think antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest challenges we could face with modern medicine, especially since they are used to treat a wide range of problems. I think there should definitely be a more stringent guideline published for when antibiotics can be administered in patients to combat this problem, especially since the price of these medicines will only continue to rise if we can't keep a product on the market for long.
ReplyDeleteAntibiotics are amazingly effective, especially when they were first used. There's no wonder as to why we overused them. The evolution of antibiotic resistance is pretty worrisome though and raises concern. Overuse, misuse, inappropriate prescribing, and extensive agriculture use have all played a role in this. Hopefully our generation and the generations to come can change some of these bad practices, and look to decrease some of the resistance we see (as well as developing new antibiotics).
ReplyDeleteAntibiotic resistance bacteria is a major health crisis that we are currently facing. I recently learned that there is only one antibiotic left that can fully kill any strain of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The pathogen has managed to produce different strains resistant to most antibiotics. How frightening is this ? Gonorrhea is one of the most common STDs so it's really important that we have drugs that can treat it. Thus I think we need to figure out different way to kill these pathogens. We need to develop new antibiotics with novel mechanism and develop different drugs other than antibiotics to fight against these pathogens.
ReplyDeleteWhen talking about antibiotic resistance and the growing numbers associated with it, I always wonder how much the general public actually knows about this problem. Most people are generally told not to discontinue using an antibiotic before the last dose, yet many people are told that (and sometimes adhere to it) without knowing why it is so important that they do it. As with many problems the health care industry faces, I wonder how even something as simple as a doctor taking an extra five minutes in an appointment of which an antibiotic was prescribed to explain the importance of completing the entire antibiotic course could help reduce the antibiotic resistance problem that we see continuing to grow. I firmly believe that education is key to bridging the gap between medicinen and the public sector, and I believe it would be worthwhile to invest time not only into new antibiotic drug development but also into teaching people why prescription completion is crucial to their health.
ReplyDeleteI have family members and have known doctors whose first response to illness is an antibiotic. This leads to obvious problems as highlighted in the blog. On the other hand, I know doctors and physician assistants who refuse to prescribe antibiotics in most cases out of fear of the antibiotic resistance crisis, and this can sometimes be detrimental to individuals who are immunocompromised and need antibiotics more often than the average person. Hopefully doctors will soon find a way to better identify individuals who are in need of antibiotics, as well as those who are not.
ReplyDeleteAntibiotic resistance is a major problem. I think it will take efforts form all aspects such as physicians, nurses and pharmacists. This may help reduce the amount we take and how often we are taken antibiotics
ReplyDeleteAntibiotic resistance is a big topic right now because it is causing a lot of problems in our society. It is a big scare to the world that antibiotics can become obsolete. if this happens and we haven't produced any new drugs to take their place then we will be in serious trouble.
ReplyDeleteOne the most important topics for me personal because Ive seen first hand how much people do not know about antibiotics and their proper uses. More people need to be taught about antibiotic resistance whether that from there doctor's or just reading a blog. People need to be aware!
ReplyDelete