The Effects Of Antibiotic Resistance On Human Health Organization

“Superbug” is the nickname given to the bacterium MRSA. It is called this because of its resistance to most antibiotics (1). Each year there are approximately 126,000 people hospitalized and 19,000

Bacteria that are resistant to several types of antibiotics are called multi-resistant bacteria (also known as superbugs). Superbugs have caused a global epidemic, hiding in plain sight. Every year, superbugs kill off thousands of people, rob them of their health insurance and cost the state millions in order to control this so called epidemic.

A Superbug is a bacterium that can live in the human body and has the ability to withstand all forms of antibiotic medication. Superbugs are becoming increasingly significant in modern medicine as they are becoming more and more resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotics were discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming (Walsh and McManus, 2000). This resulted in a huge movement forward in medical history and even greatened human life expectancy. Since then antibiotics have been widely used and abused, people began to treat everything with this ‘miracle’ drug. If antibiotics are continually used as bacteria grows exponentially more resistant to them then eventually society will fall back into an era without the readily

In today’s society it has become apparent that “antibiotic-resistant superbugs are the world’s greatest threat to humans now, and into the future. (UQ contact, 2015). In recent years’ bacteria and superbugs have adapted to resist multiple antibiotics including the last line drugs, causing large concern among the medical industry. Staphylococcus aureus, otherwise known as golden staph is a fine example of an antibiotic resistant superbug. Golden staph is becoming more excessively resistant to the most powerful of antibiotics, due to the excessive use of antibiotics the bacteria has mutated drug resistant strains, causing havoc among Australian hospitals.

The article “The End of Antibiotics” discusses a 57 year old man that was dying and how doctors could only sit by while his condition deteriorated. This man was not shot or stabbed, he was infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria that was slowly killing him. He died months later after being bombarded with antibiotics in the form of capsules, tablets, and IVs (Begley par.1). This is the unsettling power that superbugs like this one has over modern day medicine. A superbug is a bacteria that has evolved its cellular structure to resist antibiotics. Dr. Richard Wenzel of the University of Iowa stated, “Only a few years after penicillin came into wide use with World War II, strains of staph had emerged

At least two million people are infected with antibiotic resistant superbugs and at least 23,000 die from them.

The main hospital strains are already partially or fully resistant to the effects of commonly used antibiotics. Resistance is also emerging to last resort drugs like vancomycin. The more virulent community strains of MRSA are infiltrating hospitals while the more resistant hospital strain is leaking into the community. The history of MRSA as described in Superbug shows how quickly bacteria can evolve when we add a strong selective force like antibiotics. Around the world, species of bacteria are becoming “superbugs” that are resistant to conventional treatments. Pharmaceutical companies are cutting research on new antibiotics in favor of more profitable investments. We are quickly running out of options for treating multi-drug resistant bacteria. As we move toward a “post-antibiotic” world, there are valuable lessons to be found in the history of MRSA, one of the first superbugs. Students in Emerging Diseases should read Superbug to learn about the complex emergence of

The term “superbug” has been a headline in today’s conversations. America is known to be the number one country that’s is overly medicated, and one day our bodies would become resistant to the very same medications that would someday be needed to save your life. Scary as it sounds it is true. Superbugs or CRE (Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae) is very serious among hospitals, colleges, foods, nursing homes, or one in twenty-five acute care facilities across the globe known to have contracted CRE in the past year. In a headline on CNBC the CDC mentions that over “forty-seven million unnecessary prescribed antibiotic prescriptions are given every year in the United States.” Meanwhile, as a faster way of promoting healthier livestock farmers

Prophylactic antibiotics are “using antibiotics to guard against or prevent the spread or occurrence of disease or infection.” This is a paradoxical façade presented to us by the majority of the medical world, the cattle and animal agriculture industry, and the fortune 500 companies (Prophylaxis). Prophylactic antibiotics kill tens of thousands of people every year; approximately 23,000 people from last year alone had prophylactic antibiotic related deaths, and are suspected to significantly help the progression of superbugs (Threat Report 2013). Superbugs, or antibiotic-resistant bacteria, are one of the very likely results of prophylactic antibiotics, superbugs are a quiet crisis that people of the world should be aware of, considering

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

Here is a little background on the topic… “What earns bacteria the title superbug? Bacteria can carry traits or genes that allow them to survive exposure to the medicine we currently have.” This means that infections caused by these bacteria are harder to treat, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are more harmful or infectious. “What is concerning is that the gene that carries antibiotic resistance can be passed between bacteria, allowing

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).

The overuse of antibiotics is creating stronger germs; some bacteria is already resistant to antibiotics. Therefore, when bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, it is difficult and costly to treat that infection. The treat to a serious bacterial infection is a big threat to public health.

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).

Antibiotics - effective against bacterial infections, only; overuse of antibiotics is responsible for the emergence of a super strain of bacteria, can cause resistance to all antibiotics