Antibiotic Resistance Essay

Antibiotics, composed of microorganisms such as streptomycin and penicillin, kill other infectious microorganisms in the human body. At one point, antibiotics were considered to have “basically wiped out infection in the United States”, but due to their overuse and evolutionary

The disclosure by Alexander Fleming of penicillin opened up a totally new time of chemotherapy. Antibiotics are the chemotherapeutic specialists that kill or inhabit the development of microorganisms. These substance operators are utilized to treat malady by wrecking pathogenic microorganisms or restraining their development at focus sufficiently low to enough to avoid undesirable harm to the host (Dafale et al., 2016).

With all of our modern advances, it seems somewhat strange that chronic health problems have become so commonplace. When antibiotics were discovered, they predicted the end of disease. Instead, we now have a world full of frightening antibiotic resistant infections.

When penicillin was released to the public in 1944, it was a miracle drug. Infections that had been killers were suddenly treatable. Doctors recommended it generously, both for illnesses that needed it and illnesses that didn’t. Before long, however, it took much stronger doses to see penicillin’s effects. When the antibiotic arms race began in 1944, most physicians assumed that new antibiotics would be discovered or created to keep up with the evolving resistance in bacteria, but the bacteria are constantly evolving new defenses and doctors are starting to run low on antibiotic ammunition. MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is one of many types of bacteria

Penicillin, as well as other β- lactams, inhibits the enzyme that places essential cross-links between the individual polymer strings of the cell wall. It does this specifically by using the β-lactam ring to irreversibly block the active site of the enzyme, which catalyzes the reaction, transpeptidase. This inhibition allows the bacteria to newly synthesize a cell wall and to elongate, but not divide. This is due to the lack of cross-linking. The result is disruption of cell wall integrity, making the cell osmotically unstable and susceptible to lysis (Walsh, 2003). Penicillin reacts with the transpeptidase to form a stable acyl intermediate. The β-lactam ring acylates the hydroxyl group of one specific serine residue in the transpeptidase, producing an inactive penicilloyl-enzyme complex (Williams et al.,

Dr. Martin Blaser, author of Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics is Fueling Our Modern Plagues, paints antibiotics as a negative force in the world that causes disease. Dr. Blaser has studied the role of bacteria in human disease for more than thirty years at Vanderbilt University, and has experience as the director of the Human Microbiome Project at New York University. He also works with the National Institute of Health on infectious diseases. Meanwhile, Dr. David Shlaes, author of Antibiotics: The Perfect Storm, focuses on the drugs’ ability to cure disease. Dr. Shlaes has worked for 30 years in anti-infective academia, industry, and consulting. He served as Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University for five years, and then moved to industry, where he became vice president of Infectious Diseases at Wyeth Research. Later, he took a position as executive vice president of research and development at Idenix Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and formed his own consulting company. He now works predominantly with biotech companies and venture capital firms in their evaluation of anti-infective companies. While they take different approaches, the two doctors concur that antibiotic resistance is a major problem and that society needs to find ways to slow it down. One way to slow down the spread of resistant bacteria is finding ways to ensure

Antibiotic-resistant microbes infect more than two million Americans and kill over 100,000 each year. These numbers will continue to grow unless we make a drastic effort to curtail them. The necessary response is threefold and includes legislation, awareness, and activism. I will address all of these.

Since antibiotics, such as penicillin, became widely available in the 1940s, they have been called miracle drugs. They have been able to eliminate bacteria without significantly harming the other cells of the host. Now with each passing year, bacteria that are immune to antibiotics have become more and more common. This turn of events presents us with an alarming problem. Strains of bacteria that are resistant to all prescribed antibiotics are beginning to appear. As a result, diseases such as tuberculosis and penicillin-resistant gonorrhea are reemerging on a worldwide scale (1).

Bactericidal antibiotics kill bacteria by interfering with the cell wall or organelle formation. (News Medical, 2004) Bacteriostatic antibiotics interfere with the cell’s metabolic processes, such as DNA replication and protein synthesis. (News Medical, 2004) Both actions inhibit the cells vital processes, causing cell death. (Crierie & Grieg, 2010) However, superbugs, such as strains of Staphylococcus aureus, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis are deadly as they are very difficult to treat due to their resistance to multiple antibiotics. (NPS MedicineWise, 2012) Previously, Staphylococcus aureus was treated with benzyl penicillin. Currently, however, the bacteria cannot be controlled through this method, as they have developed resistance, which occurs because bacteria have the ability to mutate. After antibiotic contact, bacteria can alter their DNA in a way that enables them to resist the antibiotics. Bacteria are prokaryotic organisms and produce asexually by binary fission, thus their offspring have no genetic diversity. The only source of genetic variation in bacteria is through mutation. (Crierie & Grieg, 2010) Mutation refers to changes in gene sequences, resulting in variation in subsequent generations. This process occurs in every millionth to ten-millionth cell. (Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics, 2014) Certain types of mutations cause different types of resistance. They may enable

Infections and illnesses that were once fatal could now be easily treated with Penicillin (Eickhoff 1). Before the antibiotic boom, people’s lives succumbed to infections and diseases while in the 21st century a simple antibiotic and rest could cure within a couple of days. From the beginning of time disease and infection consumed people's thoughts and fears. They were sickened by the thought of ever catching a horrendous illness. Every cold and cough could their last, but because of penicillin and antibiotics, people of today are not frightened for their lives over a slight fever. One Patient with Ludwig’s angina on the floor of her mouth could barely breathe. Usual patients would suffocate but with the aid of Penicillin, she could breathe again within a 36 hour period (Koop 1). Once again proving the potency of the miraculous drug. Moreover, “the technologies developed for the production of penicillin, including both microbial strain selection and improvement plus chemical engineering methods responsible for successful submerged fermentation production. These became the basis for production of all subsequent antibiotics in use today (Demain 1)”. Penicillin is perhaps one of the greatest things to happen to the world. It has prolonged so many lives by not only as a drug but as jumpstarting the technology and machinery for the ever evolving world of health and medicine. Penicillin is one of the

Antibiotics target specific structure or process of the cell. Such as, inhibition of cell wall synthesis, Inhibition of protein synthesis, Injury to plasma membrane, & Inhibition of nucleic acid synthesis. These drugs include, such as B lactam drugs that are bactericidal & kill bacteria by interfering with the synthesis of the cell wall, Polymyxin B drugs that injures the plasma membrane allowing the cell to burst. Tetracycline & Chloramphenicol that are bacteriostatic drugs, and inhibits protein synthesis. Fluoroquinolones & Rifamycin that are bactericidal drugs & interfere with the synthesis of nucleic acid. The pathogens can develop resistance against these drugs that are used to treat them. Resistance to antibiotics can be acquired by mutation

F. Describe three mechanisms by which microbes might become resistant to the action of an antimicrobial drug? Microbes may become resistant by producing enzymes that will detoxify or inactivate the antibiotic such as penicillinase and other beta-lactamases. Microbes may also alter the target site in the bacterium to reduce or block binding of the antibiotic in the process producing a slightly altered ribosomal subunit that still functions but to which the drug can't bind. Microbes may also prevent the transport of the antimicrobial agent into the bacterium thereby producing an

Modern day society is constantly in motion. The miracle drug, known as antibiotics, was a remarkable scientific advancement of the 1940’s era and seems to keep up with our demands. It has become the foundation of medicine and health care in today’s society.

By inhibiting cell wall synthesis, it then becomes damaged and the internal osmotic pressure causes the cell wall to rupture or burst because of the low osmotic pressure on the external environment. This stimulates the release of autolysosomes that digest the existing cell wall. Beta-lactam antibiotics are considered bactericidal agents.

Take for example MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), a S. aureus strain that was discovered in 1961 to be resistant to the antibiotic methicillin. Webmd indicates that MRSA has now grown its resistance from methicillin to “amoxicillin, penicillin, oxacillin and many other common antibiotics” (MRSA). This increase in resistance of a methicillin-resistant strain of S. aureus can be attributed to the increasing use and overuse of antibiotics, not only in the doctor’s office but also in agriculture. MRSA is only one of many antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria. New resistant strains are evolving rapidly. According to Dr. Ed Warren, “there are high levels of antibiotic resistance in bacteria causing common infections (e.g. urinary tract infections, pneumonia, bloodstream infections) in all regions of the world” (21).