The Discovery And Development Of Antibiotics

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.

I have chosen this topic due to the controversies of using antibiotics due to antibiotic resistance.

The overconsumption of antibiotics is a big contribution to drug resistance and is why users should know what happens with the repeated use of these drugs. Even though some bacterial mutation occurs naturally, human use of antibacterial is the cause of higher-levels of resistance (Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics 2014). Bacteria mutate either by genetic mutation or by receiving the defensive agent. During an infection bacteria multiply naturally within the body and when exposed to antibiotics, bacteria have an opportunity to adapt to the drug (Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics 2014). During this period of

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), describes antibiotic resistance is the ability of bacteria or other microbes to resist the effects of antibiotic treatment. () So instead of being destroyed by the medications, the bacteria survives and continues to reproduce, resultant in new communicable diseases that even more difficult to treat.

Overtime, antibiotics have been favorable as well as negligent to society. Antibiotic usage is helpful to society because it kills and fights off bacteria in both humans and animals. With an increase in antibiotic usage, these bacteria have become resistant to certain drugs which reduce the chance of the bacteria being killed off and result in bacteria multiplying, causing increased harm to the infected. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2013), each year in the United States at least 2 million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die each year as a result to these infections. Although multiple bacteria are antibiotic resistant, and those numbers will continue to rise, antibiotics should remain a staple in the treatment of diseases, as opposed to abandoning their use which will cause an increase in the prevalence of bacterial infections.

This “antibiotic boom” was, to put it lightly, one of the most significant advancements in human history. But there is a slight problem. Unlike virtually all other technological innovations, antibiotics become less effective the more they are used. They are unique in this regard.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), “Antibiotic resistance is the ability of microbes to resist the effects of drugs – that is, the germs are not killed, and their growth is not stopped. Although some people are at greater risk than others, no one can completely avoid the risk of antibiotic-resistant infections” (“About Antimicrobial Resistance”). Antibiotic resistance has a higher chance of occurring with the more antibiotics taken, as the body adapts more and more each time. The CDC has collected data across the country, and has concluded that the estimated number of deaths caused by antibiotic resistance is 23,000, and that the number of illnesses is slightly higher than 2 million (“About Antimicrobial Resistance”). Already antibiotic resistance has affected millions of lives, and will continue to affect many more until antibiotic overuse is stopped

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

Throughout the centuries the improvement of medicine has always been on the run. Whether the cure for a viral or bacterial infection to the simple cure of a common cold, advances in medicine can be said to have had a great impact in the lives of many in the U.S. and around the world. In the U.S. alone, the life expectancy of an American increased from 49 years to 77 years because of the new way of life in the health aspect. There is no doubt that antibiotics specifically, not to say the prevention of diseases by public health regulations including over-the-counter drugs and surgical procedures, have saved thousands or even millions of lives in the U.S and around the world. However, there are many cases in which antibiotics are being overused, which in effect cause more harm than good.

When antibiotics were discovered in the early 1900’s, it revolutionized the medical world forever. Before this discovery millions and millions of people died from minor infections; there was not anything to fight off the growing bacteria. There are many types of antibiotics but the discovery of penicillin was first and it would leave everyone amazed and alive to this day.

The chances of successful treatment have been put at risk because of the resistant organisms and this has a knock-on effect on the cost of care for individual patients and the healthcare industry and governments. There is potential as well of resistant antibiotic being spread across the board that could be endemic clinically.

Antimicrobial resistance is the ability of microbes to recalcitrant the outcome of drugs – that is, the germs are not destroy, and their advancement is not shut. Although some people are at better chance than others, no one can fully avoid the wager of wonder drug-resisting infections. Infections with resisting organisms are difficult to discourse, request sumptuous and sometimes toxic alternatives. Bacteria will inevitably find ways of resisting the antibiotics improved by humans, which is why aggressive movement is needed now to keep modern resistance from developing and to prevent the resistance that already live from spreading. Explanation of Bacteria and Other Microbes are organisms too inconsiderable for the eye to see and are found everywhere on Earth. There are many types of microbes: bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. While most microbes are unoffending and even serviceable to living organisms, some can mainspring indisposition among humans, other animals, and generate. These indisposition-causing microbes are invoke pathogens; sometimes they are apply to as “germs” or “germ.” All types of microbes have the address to develop resistance to the drudge created to destroy them, becoming dope-resistant organisms. How Resistance Happens Simply second-hand antibiotics created resistance. These pharmaceutical should only be custom to manage infections. Trends in Drug

The relentless onslaught of antimicrobial resistant infections continues to scourge the United States and worldwide health care. Despite incredible advancements in technology, an alarming decline has transpired in the development and research of new antimicrobial treatments to deal with the increasing threat. Despite recent attempts by US Congress in 2005 to introduce legislation that seemed to spotlight weaknesses with pharmaceutical investments in antimicrobial research, the legislation was not enacted. In the meantime, more microorganisms continue to become more resistant to treatments, and the majority of the public are unaware of this detrimental trend. In this paper I will discuss how the current trends must be met with aggressive

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).

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).