Antibiotic resistance
Antibiotics
are medicines used to prevent and treat bacterial infections. Antibiotic
resistance occurs when bacteria change in response to the use of these
medicines.
Bacteria,
not humans or animals, become antibiotic-resistant. These bacteria may infect
humans and animals, and the infections they cause are harder to treat than
those caused by non-resistant bacteria. Antibiotic resistance leads to higher
medical costs, prolonged hospital stays, and increased mortality. It is one of
the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today. It can
affect anyone, of any age, in any country. Antibiotic resistance occurs
naturally, but misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals is accelerating the
process.
Cause
The
main causes of antibiotic resistance are-
Over-prescription
of antibiotics
Patients
not finishing the entire antibiotic course
Overuse
of antibiotics in livestock and fish farming
Poor
infection control in health care settings
Poor
hygiene and sanitation
Absence
of new antibiotics being discovered
How
Bacteria Become Drug Resistant
Bacteria
are able to resist drugs through one of several mechanisms. Some develop the
ability to inactivate or destroy the antibiotic before it can do harm. Others
can rapidly pump the antibiotic out of bacterial cells. Still others can change
the place in the cell that antibiotics target so that the drugs are
ineffective. The more these resistant organisms spread, the more they add to
the pool of resistance genes in all bacteria, raising the odds that these genes
will jump to more and more disease-causing microbes.
How
to Protect Yourself
To
avoid encouraging antibiotic-resistant strains of infections to develop:
Do
not demand an antibiotic when a health care provider says it is not needed.
Do
not take an antibiotic for a viral infection such as the common cold.
If
your health care provider prescribes an antibiotic for you, do not skip doses
and do not save any for the next time you get sick. Complete the prescribed
course of treatment even if you are feeling better.
If
you are a hospital patient or have a loved one in the hospital, make sure that
you and the doctors, nurses, support staff, and all visitors wash their hands
or use a hand sanitizer prior to touching the patient.
Care
about antibiotic resistance
Antibiotic resistance has been called one of
the world’s most pressing public health problems. Antibiotic resistance can
cause illnesses that were once easily treatable with antibiotics to become
dangerous infections, prolonging suffering for children and adults.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria can spread to family members, schoolmates, and
co-workers, and may threaten your community. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are
often more difficult to kill and more expensive to treat. In some cases, the
antibiotic-resistant infections can lead to serious disability or even death.
Although some people think a person becomes resistant to specific drugs, it is
the bacteria, not the person, that become resistant to the drugs.
Prevention
Prevention
of emergence of antibiotic resistance during treatment is an important goal
when prescribing antimicrobials. Antibiotic resistant bacteria can emerge in
three main ways--by acquisition of new genes via transposons
or horizontal gene transfer, by selection of resistant variants and by
selection of naturally resistant strains. In order to minimize emergence of
antibiotic resistance during therapy it is important to try and avoid
antibiotics which encourage the transfer of resistance genes, to avoid
selection of resistant variants from susceptible pathogens and to avoid
ablation of antibiotic susceptible normal flora. However, implementing these
objectives is not always easy. This paper discusses possible ways of limiting
the emergence of resistant bacteria during treatment. It does not consider how
to prevent the spread of these strains from person to person. The prevalence of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria depends upon the selection of
antibiotic-resistant strains and spread of these strains from person to person.
Prevention therefore consists of two parts--the prevention of acquisition of
resistance/selection of antibiotic-resistant variants and interrupting the
mechanisms by which person-to-person spread can occur. This paper considers
only the first of these two influences on prevalence of resistance.