Antibiotics first used in the 1940s, are miraculous drugs and certainly one of the great advances in medicine. They help us fight off acute illnesses caused by bacteria. Bacteria are microscopic, single-cell organisms that live almost everywhere. Some bacteria are beneficial but some can pose as a massive threat to mankind by causing a wide spectrum of unwanted medical conditions.
A bacterial infection is a proliferation of a harmful strain of bacteria on or inside the body. Bacteria can infect any area of the body. Pneumonia, meningitis, and food poisoning are just a few illnesses that may be caused by harmful bacteria. Antibiotics are effective against bacteria because they work to kill these living organisms by stopping their growth and reproduction.
Frequent and inappropriate use of antibiotics can cause bacteria or other microbes to resist the effects of antibiotic treatment. This is called antibiotic resistance and is extremely life-threatening. Other causes of antibiotic resistance include over-prescription of antibiotics, patients not finishing the entire antibiotic course, overuse of antibiotics in livestock and fish farming, poor infection control in health care settings, poor hygiene and sanitation, absence of new antibiotics being discovered.
The danger of antibiotic resistance is those treatable illnesses, such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, or minor infections could become incurable. This would put a greater economic and emotional burden on families and on our healthcare system. The ones most susceptible to bacterial infection and antibiotic resistance are infants and senior citizens as they do not have strong immune systems. Hence it is extremely important to be careful.
To conclude, Antibiotic resistance is accelerated by the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, as well as poor infection prevention and control. Steps can be taken at all levels of society to reduce the impact and limit the spread of resistance.
Writer: Tiana Bijlani
16/06/2020
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