Antibiotic Resistance Research Paper
Antibiotic Resistance as a Public Health Problem
Van Bui
ID: 35056106
Public Health 1
First Year
Ms. Zuzana Bic
Public Health Problem
Antibiotic use inevitably leads to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Although most bacteria, which are sensitive, are killed by the antibiotic treatment, there are often a few resistant bacteria that still grow and multiply. This repeated process leads to antibiotic resistance. Not only that, but the problem of antibiotic resistance is perpetuated and worsened by people’s improper and unnecessary use of antibiotics, such as instinctively turning to antibiotic treatment instead of actually assessing their illnesses, not properly
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This collection was compiled mostly from before antibiotics were even introduced to the public. The collection was transferred from the University of Western Ontario, Canada--where it was originally kept--to the National Collection of Type Cultures in England, which is where it can be found present-day.
Antibiotic resistance is one of the most urgent global public health issues. As a result of this resistance, stronger bacteria equate to less responsive antibiotic treatment. This is almost like effectiveness has plateaued over the years; when antibiotics were first introduced to the public, they were extremely effective, especially for common diseases and illnesses that could have worsened significantly. However, in modern society today, antibiotic effectiveness has been complicated and reduced because of people’s lack of mindfulness. Antibiotic resistance makes diseases and infections harder to cure in communities, especially in low socioeconomic, poorer communities. This is because developing supposedly better and more antibiotics is costlier, so these poorer communities cannot afford the new antibiotics. So even if the richer communities can keep up with the evolution of antibiotics, the rest of the world population that does not financially have such means cannot, leading to a worsening of the public health problem. Common diseases and infections, like the cold, cough, and flu, become harder to treat. Microbes,
During the 1960’s, many movements rose such as the counterculture movement, the hippie movement, the environmental movement, the SCLC, the SNCC, the Native American movement, Women’s civil rights, United Farm workers, etc. During the 1960’s the American culture would start to change because of these movements. The United Farm Workers movement for example fought for the rights of Mexican americans. Their goal during the 1960’s was to get decent working conditions and more job opportunities. The United Farm Workers movement was led primarily by Dolores Huerta, Gilbert Padilla, and Cesar Chavez. Cesar Chavez coordinated the protests, and was at the time the President of the United Farm workers movement. Like Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez
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Throughout my life, adults have insisted the use of antibiotics to fight against the most inconsequential illnesses, whether it’s the cold or the flu. However, neither illness is due to invasion of bacteria. This misuse can lead to antibiotic resistance, also known as antimicrobial resistance(AMR), currently one of the central issues facing the public health system. While the process for antibiotic resistance occurs naturally through the process of adaptation, the mismanagement of antibiotic resources has accelerated the rate at which the bacteria adapt. The occurrence of this misinformation isn’t limited to a few adults: even some of my peers suggest taking antibiotics when faced with the flu. This leads to asking whether AMR is truly a problem and are present regulations enough to combat the issue.
Essayist, Francine Prose, in her article, “Which Came First?” reflected on the age-old conundrum of unanswered questions. Prose’s purpose of writing this was to provide an explanation for the many questions we heard, as kids, and how they can impact our lives. It is felt that now was the right time to provide a reflection on the questions asked, but never answered by kids alike. She adopted an erudite tone in order to intrigue those having asked or been asked these questions through childhood. What’s on the other side of the sky?, Which came first the chicken or the egg?
(KArch) We as human-hosts are not just helpless victims, our continuous reliance on antibiotics treatment helps contribute to the ever growing problem. The increased and inappropriate use of antibiotic therapy is the main cause of these antibiotic resistant bacteria. Patient this day and age are often prescribed pills for every condition. Patients come into doctors’ offices demanding antibiotics and healthcare providers are filling these orders. This in turn contributed to this growing chain of antimicrobial resistance.
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).
Millions of lives are saved every single day because of antibiotics treating common infections, allowing organ transplants, as well extending the average lifespan by decades. About half of the emergency cases treated in the intensive care units in the video “Antibiotic Resistance—Catalyst” are suffering from bacterial infections as well as coming to terms that it is no longer treatable, because bacteria are rapidly becoming resistant to all the antibiotics we have. By overusing this incalculable medical resource, we are basically risking the loss the potency of antibiotics, which is a threat to the human race.
Resistance is easily spread, either ‘horizontally’, through gene exchange within bacteria, or ‘vertically’, through sequential mutation and formation of antibiotic resistance through new generations. (State Government of Victoria 2015) A massive 80-90% of antibiotics ingested are excreted as waste because they are not broken down inside the body. They then enter the environment, allowing gene transfer to occur and facilitating resistance in more bacteria. Therefore, as resistance is spread so easily, the risks become even higher. Additionally, if antibiotics continue to be used so abundantly, the majority will be made resistant due to the widespread use. Moreover, as the current degree of antibiotic use continues, then society’s ability to treat common infectious diseases sharply increase. Those infected with superbugs are unable to respond to standard medicine, thus are ill for a longer period of time, accumulate higher health care costs, and have a greater risk of mortality. According to the World Health Organisation, people with MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), a common infection in hospitals, are 64% more likely to die in comparison with people with the non-resistant form of Staphylococcus aureus. Additionally, as individuals are
Antibiotic development is one of the modern marvels of medicine. This is the first external tool that people have to fight against bacterial infections. The first drug developed was Penicillin. This medication is so effective that it is still used today. From its structure, every other antibacterial drug was developed. Today, there are hundreds of options available for treating infections. Unfortunately, this has had significant ramifications on the development of resistance to these medications. As the infections continue to learn and evolve, it is important that people educate themselves on what this means and the impacts it has.
Antibiotic resistant infections are on the rise in the United States, and this rise can be directly attributed to the over-prescription of antibiotics by healthcare professionals. Even with the many advances in the world today when it comes to antibiotics and treating infections, antibiotic resistant diseases are on the rise. With the diminished ability to destroy the growth of bacteria, the less we are able to get the quick fix that we believe is achieved with the use of antibiotics. Resistance compromises the benefits that we currently have to treat anything from pneumonias to antibiotics given
According the World Health Organization (WHO), antibiotic resistance is one of the world’s greatest health threats to date (Haddox, 2013). In the article, The Health Threat of Antibiotic Resistance, Gail Haddox (2013) discusses the danger antibiotic resistance poses in today’s society and strategies to prevent the expansion of antibiotic resistance. In Europe alone, an estimated 25,000 deaths have been attributed to multi-resistant infections (Haddox, 2013). Common infections are now harder to treat due to the increased resistance to antibiotics across the world, in fact some are becoming untreatable. Antibiotics should be treated like oil, a non-renewable resource (Haddox, 2013).
Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem that must be addressed on a clinical, economical, and research level. According to the antimicrobial resistance AMR, by 2050 “10 million more people would be expected to die every year than would be the case if resistance was kept to today’s level”. Due to over exposure do antibiotics bacterial pathogens have developed both defenses and offenses against antibiotics. These mechanisms provide bacteria to survive antibiotic level that human bodies cannot tolerate. In order to combat this problem two main avenues exist. The first option is big pharmaceutical companies and startup biotechnology companies, backed by venture capitalism, can develop new antibiotics. This process however is not profitable
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).
Antibiotic Resistance occurs when bacteria reformat themselves in order to become unaffected by the drugs or substances created to terminate them. They gain resistance to the drugs which causes the drugs to be ineffective of use and leading to more harm. Antibiotic Resistance commonly occurs within patients due to physicians misusing or overusing antibiotics. This creates a common resistance to patients and resulting in the constant creation for new antibiotics that would treat the bacteria. The main conflict generally evolves from medical stewardship where physicians have the responsibility to optimally heal their patients to their best efforts. However this is being neglected by misuse of antibiotics due to several reasons, including patients’ ignorance and fear of malpractice. The authors in the articles “Just give me the script: the scourge of antibiotic misuse and the threat to us all” written by Ranjana Srivastava, “Health-ignorant patients one of many problems exacerbating antibiotic resistance” written by C.L. Doherty, and “Ignorance about antibiotics propelling global ‘superbug’ crisis” written by Helen Branswell, all emphasizes on the topic by developing Ethos, Logos and Pathos towards Antibiotic Resistance.