Zeina Ayache Drug resistance represents a public health problem that, to date, is not yet easy to imagine, yet, according to researchers, by 2050, 10 million people a year will die because they are unable to be treated with antibiotics. Here's what you need to know
Resistance to drugs has now become an emerging problem for public health and a potential threat to human survival. Let’s delve into what it is, how it is arising, and the risks and actions we face.
From penicillin to today: the birth of antibiotics
Less than 100 years have passed and we’ve already ruined everything.
In 1928, Alexander Fleming stumbled upon the existence of a mold capable of inhibiting bacterial growth.
That mold was a member of the Penicillium genus, and it led to the discovery of penicillin—the world’s first antibiotic.
2050 could look something like 1944: no cures, more deaths
By 2050, drug resistance is projected to claim 10 million lives annually (by comparison, cancer deaths are expected to reach 18.5 million).
Within the next 25 years, we are in danger of returning to the pre-1945 reality—when penicillin was used in Italy for the first time. Then, people died from what today would be called minor diseases: small infections, diarrhea, typhoid fever, and pneumonia—just like it still happens in some parts of the world, though we tend to either overlook or dismiss this.
We will be helpless again, victims of bacterial infections due to so-called “superbugs”-antibiotic-resistant pathogens that are already in our midst.
Drug resistance: what it is and how bacteria evolved
Resistance to drugs, otherwise known as antibiotic resistance or antimicrobial resistance, describes the process whereby bacteria acquire the capabilities of recognizing and neutralizing antibiotics, making treatments ineffective.
Bacteria have, over time, evolved mechanisms through which they can counteract or inactivate what was actually killing them-antibiotics.
Put simply, infections that are readily treatable today will become incurable—and lethal—tomorrow.
What brings about drug resistance?
The crisis stems directly from misuse and overuse treated as if they were candies sans sugar.
We take in antibiotics intentionally to treat infections and indirectly, since these substances are already trace presence in the water we drink and in what we eat.
The threatening bacteria already
Following are some of the five bacterial strains which are a matter of high concern:
- Staphylococcus aureus: Skin infections, pneumonia, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, infectious arthritis, and meningitis.
- Escherichia coli: Urinary tract infections, pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis.
- Streptococcus pneumoniae: Otitis, pneumonia, meningitis, and death.
- Klebsiella pneumoniae: Pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and chronic genital ulcers.
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Meningitis, osteomyelitis, and enteritis.
These are just a few examples of bacteria that are increasingly resistant to treatment.
What to Do?
Limit antibiotics use only to the most necessary case, and hope that scientists will come up with alternative ways.
