Antibiotic Resistance And Its Effects On The Human Body

When a bacteria is exposed to antibiotics, they are not always guaranteed to die. This is called antibiotic resistance. Sometimes antibiotics can only stop the bacteria from multiplying (make it stagnate), and other times it causes the bacteria to multiply even more. These three results depend on antibiotic concentration, bacterial mutation, and bacterial genetic exchange.

Widespread use of antibiotics has been very controversial in the media as well in the general population. Due to these controversies, it is very misunderstood to how antibiotics work leading to many patients in the hospital setting wanting to take them when it is not necessary or refusing to take when it is necessary for their survival. Some of this controversy is due to antibiotic resistance, which has spread an alarming rate in the 21st century (Walsh, 2000). Antibiotic resistance is the result of very strong bacteria or microbes that are resistant to the antibiotic prescribed and those microbes accumulate overtime by their survival, reproduction and transfer, leading to increased levels of antibiotic resistance.

Studies show that twenty-three thousand out of two million with infection dies because antibiotic resistance(Center for Disease Control). What exactly is antibiotic resistance and how did bacterias become resistant

Antibiotics are used incorrectly and become resistant when a patient misuses it. By overusing or underusing antibiotics, the bacteria will adapt and become resistance to the antibiotic. When people stop taking antibiotics to treat an infection before all the bacteria is wiped out, the existing bacteria survive, adapt, and multiply. When patients overuse the antibiotics, the antibiotics kill all the bacteria, including the good ones that help defend the body. Some of the bacteria will remain because of mutations that provide them with immunity and will continue to reproduce with developed resistance to the antibiotic, with the antibiotic having no effect and without any good bacteria left. Another way bacteria becomes resistant is through animals that have been given antibiotics. The bacteria can become resistant in animals and be transferred to humans through animal

The increased population of the world along with availability of global transport means resulted in the advancement of critical health situations that the current treatments cannot manage efficiently (Abdulamir 1). The World Economic Forum (WEF) concludes that, “We live in a bacterial world where we will never be able to stay ahead of the mutation curve. A test of our resilience is how far behind the curve we allow ourselves to fall” (Spellberg, et al.). Antibiotic resistance is truly driven by microbial exposure to all antibiotics whether they are appropriately prescribed or not (Spellberg, et al.). For example, antibiotic resistance was recently discovered among bacteria found in underground caves that had been isolated from the planet’s surface for four million years and was even found in synthetic antibiotics that were nonexistent on earth until the 20th century (Spellberg, et al.). As the cave example shows, antibiotic-resistant infections would prevail even if all antibiotic use was restricted and appropriate, so just restricting prescriptions alone will not suffice. Any more of the typical antibiotics found and even the new antimicrobials currently helping will not effectively fight resistance, for they will eventually be overpowered by the growth of resistance (Roemhild, et al. 945). By considering the evolution

The issue of anti-microbial resistance can be reduced just by coordinated endeavors of all individuals from society for guaranteeing the effectiveness of antibiotics. If everyone is educated and stop using prescription antibiotics for common cold, headache, or other viruses lessen people who misuses such antibiotics. Also, hospitals should be cautious in prescribing antibiotics if unnecessary. For instance, at Kaiser Hospital where I take my children, doctors advise that common cold or flu viruses cannot be cured by antibiotics unless it is bacterial

To understand how bacteria became resistant to antibiotics, one must first understand the origin of antibiotics and its introduction into the body. Once these antibiotics were discovered and first started being used, it was not long after that that they regrettably were accompanied by the appearance of some resistant strains as well. The development of antibiotic resistance is persistent especially because

Antibiotic resistance can develop wherever antibiotics are: medical facilities, animal products and communities. Breaks in infection control, inadequate water sanitation and poor hygiene all contribute to the spread of resistant bacteria from person to person (Collignon, et al., 2015). The majority of antibiotic usage worldwide is in animals raised as a food source (Collignon, et al., 2015). 80% of antibiotic use in the United States is for growth promotion and disease prevention of farm animals used for food sources (CDC, 2015). This usage of antibiotics leads to the development of resistant bacteria, which spread to people via the food chain or water (Collignon, et al., 2015).

The overuse of antibiotics has been a problem for well over a decade. This misuse leads to many nonvisible problems arising within the human population. As the use of antibiotics increases, the number of antibiotic resistant bacteria also increases. When bacteria become resistant to an antibiotic, another antibiotic must be used to try and kill it and the cycle becomes vicious. Michael Martin, Sapna Thottathil, and Thomas Newman stated that antimicrobial resistance is, “an increasingly serious threat to global public health that requires action across all government sectors and society” (2409).

Antibiotics are derived from microbes that work by inhibiting the growth or by killing other bacteria (Tortora, Funke, and Case 549). Usually our body’s immune system is an ample defense by stopping microbes from replicating or killing them. However, sometimes the body can become overwhelmed and that is when antibiotics are used to help out our immune systems. An important dilemma in medicine is the increasing occurrence of antibiotic resistance, which occurs when bacteria are exposed to the same antibiotics over and over and eventually makes them less effective (Tortora, Funke, and Case 549). Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are bacteria that are not killed by common antibiotics (“Antibiotics”, 2007, para.6). There are several ways bacteria can develop antibiotic resistance: by altering of the drug target, altering membrane permeability, by developing enzymes that can inactivate the drug, developing alternate synthetic pathways, or acquire resistance by exposure to microbe with resistance genes. This spreading of genes is the result of plasmids that transfer R factors which contain two groups of genes: a resistance transfer factor and the r-determinant, which has the resistance genes (Tortora, Funke, and Case 232). R factors can be a problem in the healthcare field because of the misuse of antibiotics. This leads to preferential selection of bacteria that have R factors and results in populations of resistant bacteria growing larger and larger (Tortora, Funke,

Antibiotic resistance or superbugs is / are global issues. They might not be as much of a problem now but they can wipe out thousands of people with a snap of the fingers. I think we can fight the superbugs by not abusing drug use and not giving drugs to animals that we eat. Superbugs are a certain type of bacteria that is immune to all medicine that you throw at it and can be very deadly. Antibiotic resistance is one of the world 's most worrisome health issues. Improper use of antibiotics are the main cause of drug resistant bacteria.I think we can fight the superbugs / antibiotic resistance by not abusing drug use and not giving drugs to animals that we eat. Also by using drugs / medicine properly and not overusing them. Here is some information on antibiotic resistance to help you know more about it, know how to prevent it and finally be cautious when eating at fast food restaurants.

The discovery of antimicrobial agents for the treatment of infectious diseases has been heralded as one of the greatest medical achievements of the 20th century. However, use, misuse, and abuse of antimicrobial agents has led to an increase in the population of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and has become a major public health threat the world over. Unfortunately the pace of developing new treatments has not kept pace with the growing problem, leading to increased mortality and morbidity rates. Only through education programs and development of new classes of treatment can this epidemic hoped to be controlled. The proliferation of antibiotic resistance is a continuing problem for all members of the human race and only with concerted efforts of all can the continued efficacy of antibiotics be preserved.

Since the 1940s there has been an increase of antimicrobial resistance towards antimicrobial drugs, because the use of antibiotics has increased and microbes are exposed to non-lethal dosages of drugs, thus allowing the microbes to evolve a resistance.

Antimicrobial agents have been used for the past seventy years to treat infectious diseases in humans and animals. They have revolutionized the face of medicine extending human lifespan and enabling worldwide breakthroughs including safer childbirth, surgeries and organ transplants (2).

Antibiotic drugs have been inappropriately used for so long that the infectious organisms the antibiotics are designed to kill have adapted to them, making the drugs less effective. Antibiotic resistance is the ability of bacteria to resist the effects of an antibiotic. This means that even after an individual takes the necessary antibiotics, bacteria will still remain in the body. Over time, bacteria have stopped responding to the antibiotics. Daptomycin, one of the most recent drugs, was founded in 2003. A year later, resistance to it was found. (McKenna).