Why Disease-Causing Bacteria Are Resistant to Antibiotics and What the Medical Profession in South Africa is Doing About It

Multiple studies have linked that antibiotics cause a range of problems. It can wipe out the body’s good bacteria (probiotics), which helps to protect from infections, digest food and produce vitamins and minerals.

When non-resistant bacteria are exposed to an antibiotic, most of them die. But due to the increase of mutations some of the bacteria are becoming resistance to the antibiotic. The bacteria are all subject to natural selection. Natural selection is as simple as saying that the bacteria that have not developed a mutation or resistance that helps them to survive die. The ones that do, survive and pass on the mutation to the next generation. This means that we are constantly having to adapt our antibiotics because so much of the mutation is getting passed along. The flu vaccination is a good example of how mutations are carried over and how the vaccine had to be changed every year to fight the ever changing virus. Some strains

Another crucial element to consider is the emergence of bacterial strains resistant to antibiotics,given the widespread use of these drugs as a prophylactic or a therapeutic regimen.

Bacteria can be a scary thing, but some people do not even know what bacteria is but doctors have created antibiotics to destroy it. “Many people are unaware what bacteria are and how antibiotics control them.”(Voss, Bristol) Basically bacteria a large group of unicellular microorganisms that have cell walls but lack organelles and an organized nucleus, including some that can cause disease. Antibiotics are used to destroy bacteria, but if a person is prescribed too many antibiotics they may become immune to antibiotics forever and have to live without a strong immune system. Antibiotics attacks bacteria by preventing it from building a wall to defend itself from the body's immune system. So the body’s immune system can easily kill the bacteria.

Antibiotic resistance happens when bacteria come into contact with an antibiotic over and over again.

Like any other organism, bacterium are subject to evolutionary pressure. Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is rarely the result of a single mutation leading to full resistance, but rather the result of a series of mutations that incrementally increased antibiotic resistance. For example, in the case of fluoroquinolone resistance, resistance started with a mutation in the efflux pump, granting Streptococcus pneumoniae the ability to survive certain treatment regimens (13). This became an issue when people started to misuse their antibiotics. In this particular example, because patients did not follow their prescription regimens, they only killed the bacteria not resistant to fluoroquinolone. This selective pressure drove bacteria to further develop fluoroquinolone resistance, meaning that the initial infection remained untreated, and would now require a

Frequent antibiotic use over long periods of time puts selective pressure on bacteria, and causes resistance to spread. When an antibiotic is used to treat a typical bacterial infection, most bacteria are killed. Sometimes, however, a bacterium with an advantage lives. This bacterium can then reproduce and pass its advantage on, creating many more antibiotic resistant bacteria.​ Sometimes in medicine, antibiotics are used too often or incorrectly, which can cause resistance to spread faster than it would

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

When a person takes an antibiotic incorrectly, it kills those that don’t have a mutation and also can kill the good bacteria that your body needs for daily activity such as digesting food. Once all the good and bad bacteria are dead, those that are left with the genetic mutation start to reproduce rapidly and eventually take over leaving you with a mass amount of bacteria that are resistant to whatever it is that normally kills them and can create a resistance.

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.

Once bacteria is exposed to an antibiotic, the sensitive bacteria are killed, but sometimes not all the bacteria are killed and those colonies that survive, are left to multiply. Bacteria can become resistant through many mechanisms, it depends on the bacteria. Some bacteria fight the drugs and push them out, others alter the attack site which makes the antibiotic unable to harm the bacteria in a way it did before. The attack site is altered when the bacteria has a stronger defense than the antibiotic has (Rice, 2006). If repeatedly exposed to antibiotics, this process allows selective pressure to occur which makes it more likely for the bacteria to mutate. Selective pressure is a process the bacteria take to become immune. Sometimes, however,

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.

Antibiotic resistance will kill 300 million people by 2050. Antibiotic resistance appears when an antibiotic resistance loses the strength to effectively manage or kill bacteria and bacteria growth. There are some antibiotics that are naturally resistant to the human body. There are two other ways your body could become antibiotic resistant, 1) by genetics or 2) by acquiring resistance from other antibiotics. Many people ask how antibiotic resistance spreads. It can spread “vertically” which is a new generation that inherits antibiotic resistance genes. It can also spread “horizontally” is when bacteria share or exchange sections of genetic material with other bacteria.

Inadequate dosing contributes to resistance and is mostly prevalent in low income or impoverished parts of the world, where medication is not affordable and pharmaceutical regulations are often lacking. Cheap, substandard antibiotics are often the only option and they are ineffective in eliminating all infectious pathogens, resulting in amplified resistance (Laxminarayan et al., 2013). Also, in some of these countries, antibiotics are available without a prescription and are taken without discretion. More strict regulations and supervision for pharmaceuticals would help reduce the amount of expired or counterfeit medication being distributed and people would receive effective, more affordable treatments. Making antibiotics available after diagnosis and only by prescription, would help to decrease misuse and increase patient education about benefits and adverse effects of antibiotics (Laxminarayan et al., 2013).

Many bacterial infections are treated with anti-bacterial agents such as antibiotics. However, due to the uncontrolled use of antibiotics, particularly the prescribing of antibiotics to treat common viral colds and flu, microbial resistance to antibiotic has dramatically increased. (The Health Gazette, n.d.). Scientist have warned that E.coli which has previously been sensitive to antibiotics, is becoming resistant to more antibiotics and in future could become as resistant to antibiotics like that of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In addition, there is a