One of the biggest threats to global health, development and food security is antibiotic resistance. It is a major problem because it doesn’t distinguish age, country of origin, gender or status; it can affect anyone and everyone.

While antibiotic resistance would occur naturally anyway, the constant misuse of these medications in both humans and animals has accelerated the process noticeably, and a growing number of infections that were perfectly treatable, like tuberculosis, pneumonia, gonorrhoea or salmonellosis, are becoming more and more difficult to treat effectively because the antibiotics aren’t working like they used to. This of course leads to complications that result in longer hospitalizations, increased medical bills and even death.

What is antibiotic resistance?

Antibiotics are medicines that are used in the treatment and prevention of bacterial infections. Antibiotic resistance happens when bacteria change the way they respond to those medications.

Humans and animals don’t become resistant to the antibiotics, it’s the bacteria that does, and when they infect someone, these infections will be much harder to treat than infections caused by non-resistant bacteria.

This problem is becoming a serious health issue since the indiscriminate use and abuse of antibiotics is really what is causing it. The way these medicines are prescribed and taken must change urgently.

If this behaviour isn’t modified, it really doesn’t matter if we develop new antibiotics, because the problem isn’t in the medication, it’s in the way they are used.

How deep does antibiotic resistance go?

Antibiotic resistance is reaching alarming rates in all parts of the world. Bacteria are developing new forms of resistance and they are spreading across the world, posing a very serious threat to our ability to treat common diseases. The number of infections that are becoming harder, and in some cases even impossible to treat is growing.

One the main issues is that in some places, antibiotics are readily available to the public without the need of a written prescription, so the medication is used freely; worsening and spreading the resistance even more.

If measures aren’t taken promptly, we could be headed to an era where common infections and minor injuries can once again become deadly.

Prevention and control

This problem is growing and accelerated by the misuse and overuse of antibiotics. There are some measures that can be taken in order to slow it down a bit, and they include:

• Only used antibiotics when prescribed by a certified doctor or professional.
• If you’re told you don’t need antibiotics, don’t demand to be prescribed.
• Always follow the instructions for the antibiotics and the dosage, and don’t share any leftovers with other people.
• Prevent infections with hygienic measures, like washing hands, avoiding contact with sick people, practicing safe sex and keeping your vaccinations to date.
• Investment in research for new antibiotics, vaccines and diagnostic tools.

What impact can antibiotic resistance have?

If an infection doesn’t respond to first line antibiotics, then one must use more expensive medicines. The longer a person is sick or with an infection, especially in hospitals, will drive the health care costs up, as well having a big impact on the financial stability of the family.

This problem is also putting at risk a lot of the modern achievements of medicine; for example organ transplants, and surgeries like caesarean section will become much more risky if effective antibiotics aren’t available anymore.