Emergence Of Multiple Drug Resistant Pathogens Essay

One environment where bacteria are regularly exposed to antibiotics is in large livestock operations, where producers very often treat their cows and other animals with drugs to prevent epidemics in the unsanitary and overcrowded conditions, which are common in the livestock industry. The simple reason for this is that in the short term it is cheaper to drug up the animals with antibiotics than to keep a clean living environment for them. Another big reason for these producers to drug up the animals is the fact that feeding antibiotics to the livestock makes for larger animals. The problem occurs when bacteria in these animals survive the bombardment of antibiotics, and some always do, the

Antibiotic resistance has become a hot topic amongst scientists and healthcare professionals. It would be rare to observe in a clinical setting and not see some type of antibiotic resistant infection being treated. Scientists and medical doctors are scrambling trying to develop plans to discover new drugs or at least dampen the rate at which these organisms are developing resistance. Evolutionary biologists are claiming this type of resistance as proof of evolution, but is that a statement that is really supported by the evidence? It depends on which type of evolution is being talked about first. Macroevolution is the theory that one species can evolve into a totally different species. Microevolution is the change of genotypes and phenotypes

Antibiotics are amongst the most important medical discoveries and their introduction represents a remarkable success story (Hedin, 2011). The term antibiotics literally means against life (Walsh, 2000). Thus antibiotics can be used against any microbe such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. However, some people use the term to only apply to bacteria, but in this paper, the more appropriate term will be used.

In an era where common people are perhaps more health-conscious than ever before, it is mainstream knowledge that meat treated with antibiotics and hormones may not be safe for consumption. Many chain restaurants, such as Chipotle, Chick-Fil-A, and now Subway, will only buy meat from non-antibiotic suppliers, in order to meet increasingly high consumer standards. However, less than fifty years ago, meat from antibiotic treated livestock was actually preferred. What triggered this change in the way consumers scrutinize their food? It can be largely attributed to the research of one Stanford biologist and former Commissioner of the FDA, Doctor Donald Kennedy. Through opening the medical community’s eyes to the potential dangers of antibiotic resistance, Donald Kennedy shed light on one of the most troubling phenomena of modern medicine. However, before he was a Harvard graduate and esteemed biologist, Kennedy was a child growing up like any other in a New York City stricken by the Great Depression.

Without a doubt, the issue with antibiotic resistance has become one of the most urgent health problems in the world. Recent studies have proven that antibiotics are becoming less effective in the recent years. For instance, developing countries like China and Kuwait experienced rapid growth in antibiotic resistance. In the years between 1994 and 2002 the reported cases of hospital and community-acquired antimicrobial infections for China boosted from 22% to 41% and Kuwait also experienced an average of 17% growth from 1999 to 2003 (Zhang 1). As the prevalence of superbugs is becoming more common due to excessive or incorrect use of penicillin and quinolones, people are more susceptible to contact this lethal microbe. The existence of antibiotic is meant to be beneficial to the human population because the drug itself is very effective at curing illnesses and enhancing food safety (Clemmitt 1). At the same time, people are generating a more serious issue by overusing the drugs.

It is undeniable that the recent discovery of antibiotics and disinfectants in the past century is leading to the creation of increasingly dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Super bugs like Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus have begun breaking out in hospital areas, killing more and more patients due to the lack of people following through with simple safety measures. In order to stop the creation and spread of antibiotic-resistant super bugs, proper precautions must be taken such as avoiding antibacterial cleaners, following through with instructions when taking prescriptions and maintaining adequate hand hygiene. Through adhering to basic safety rules, the creation and spread of super bugs can be minimized and all together

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).

There are many factors behind the reason of why some pathogens have become resistant to antibiotics. The widespread use of antibiotics has resulted in natural selection of pathogens that are resistant to these medications. Under some circumstances, bacteria can transfer genes for resistance directly from one cell to another.

When a bacterium develops a resistance to an antibiotic, the ability to kill the bacteria proves to be more difficult, causing the bacteria to reproduce rapidly without obstruction. A pathogen is able to gain resistance through the use of an antibiotic. Thus, if a microbe is able to survive the process of “selective pressure” then the bacteria with the resistance is able to reproduce, causing more pathogens with the defiance to spread. In addition to selective pressure, a bacterium has the possibility of developing a mutation or acquiring certain DNA codes that allow the microbes to obtain certain traits from other bacteria. This then allows any bacterium to become resistant due to the transfer of a DNA piece.

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

Silver has been used since Roman times as a disinfectant because of its well-known antimicrobial properties. AgNPs are considered attractive building blocks for nanomaterial architectures based upon the nanoparticles size and shape (Shipway etal 2000).

With antibiotic resistance escalating, it is clear that there needs to be more of an emphasis on the development and testing of new treatments to combat resistance. However, the argument over whether or not antibiotic development should be promoted or squashed remains in the healthcare community.

Ceftazidime is a third generation cephalosporin antibiotic used to treat a number of bacterial infections, particularly Pseudomonas and other Gram negatives, and its activity relies on binding of essential penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) (1). Despite its effectiveness against certain bacteria, there have been reports of rapidly increasing incidences of antibacterial resistance to ceftazidime caused by extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae (2). Recently, a new beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor combination, ceftazidime-avibactam (AVYCAZ) has shown to have “in vitro activity against Enterobacteriaceae in the presence of some beta-lactamases and extended-spectrum beta-lactamases” and is FDA-approved for treating complicated intra-abdominal infections as well as complicated urinary tract infections (1). Due to the resistance frequency of inpatient Enterobacteriaceae isolates at the University of Washington Medical Center (4), susceptibility testing of Ceftazidime and Ceftazidime-Avibactam are crucial to ensure antibiotic treatment efficacy and to take action to reduce the spread of multi-drug resistant bacteria in a hospital setting.

John Wesley is a 56 year old man who apart from taking warfarin for his chronic atrial fibrillation is not on any other medication. His International Normalised Ratio (INR) is monitored regularly so that it is around 2.5 (range 2.06-2.8). John goes to his GP with a lower urinary tract infection and is prescribed a 7 day course of cefixime, a 3rd generation cephalosporin. His GP tells John that he will need to come in the following week for a blood test for his INR.

Silver is bright and shining metal known to mankind from ancient times. From ancient time’s human civilization are using silver for jewelleries, utensils, weapons, coin, medicine, water containing tanks. From early days silver is assisting the immune system when it was plentiful available in dissolved metallic form in water[1]. In periodic table it is placed at 47th position near to heavy metal.it is a transition metal. It has atomic weight 107.8. Silver has good metallic property like malleability, ductility, thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity [2]. Silver exhibit the excellent anti-microbial property. After the development of nanotechnology we are using silver extensively in various area. Now a day we use silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) instead of metallic silver for many of daily uses. It is seen that AgNPs is highest degree of commercialisation among all the Nanoparticles in medical and health sector. There are numerous uses where AgNPs are used like in cloths, medicines, disinfectants, tiles, surgical equipment, and silver coated bone prosthesis. Nao silver is also used in room spray, paints and laundry detergents. Many manufacture using nano silver in washing machines and refrigerators. Silver coated or vessels are used to preserve water and wine mainly during long voyages.