Antibiotics have revolutionized the medical field in the 20th century from their first insurgence in 1929. Penicillin, the first discovered antibiotic, was developed by Alexander Fleming from the fungus Penicillium. Since their early years, antibiotics have been developed for hundreds of bacteria infections and used recurrently for millions of patients. While at their beginning, antibiotics were developed faster than bacteria were developing resistance for them, new resistance has threatened the use of many antibiotics. As resistance grows, it causes appropriate worry if society will soon be forced to face today’s diseases without antibiotics.
A “superbug” is a term coined to describe a certain strain of bacteria that has become resistant to many of the main antibiotics used to treat that disease. Resistance can arise from conjugation of bacteria using sex pili, or from lysogenic transformation of R plasmids. The most recent drug resistant microbes Candida auris and Acinetobacter. These microbes have been deemed “urgent threats” to American health as more and more microbes are acquiring their resistance. A previous report, published in 2013, estimated that at least 2 million people in the US get an antibiotic-resistant infection each year and that at least 23,000 people die from these infections. Today, drug-resistant bacteria and fungi cause more than 2.8 million infections and 35,000 deaths across the country annually, revealing the steep increse.
Antibiotic resistance is a naturally occurring event that can be slowed, but not stopped. However, certain practices can perpetuate the rapid spread of disease resistance. Poor infection control practices, misuse of antibiotics, and mishandling food are some of the main ways resistance is spread. We as a medical community can help tackle antibiotic resistance by using antibiotics as directed and only when needed, completing full treatment courses, never using leftover prescriptions, and never sharing antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance is one of the scariest things society is currently facing, after global warming. It is absolutely vital that we begin taking measures to protect ourselves and our future generations from reverting to 1800’s level medical care.
micro biology 