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Antibiotic Resistance
Kali L .Lockhart
Introduction
Antibiotic Resistance 2
What some people call a ticking time bomb, the World Health Organization says
antibiotic resistance is the biggest threat to global health (Brown, 2018). Antibiotic resistance
infects at least 2 million people and kills around 23,000 people each year. That number will
continue to grow if we don’t do anything. It is predicted by the year 2050, 10 million people
infected will die each year (Brown, 2018). As the World Health Organization put it best,
Serious threat is no longer a prediction for the future, it is happening right now in
every region of the world and has the potential to affect anyone, of any age, in any
country. Antibiotic resistance–when bacteria change so antibiotics no longer work
in people who need them to treat infections–is now a major threat to public health.
This brings up the question; Should the United States limit antibiotic usage?
Evolution of Antibiotics
The first recorded resistance to antibiotics were in the 1930s just a few years after
Penicillin was introduced to society by Alexander Fleming in 1928. The term antibiotic was
proposed by Selman Waksman to mean the “activity of a chemical compound,” (Davies &
Davies, 2010). This leads antibiotics to be a generic term to generally mean anything that inhibits
bacterial infections. However, they cannot treat viral infections like the common cold (Bell,
2009). Since then various types of antibiotics have developed globally to not only treat humans
but animals and better typical merchandise. Not even 100 years after the invention of antibiotics,
society has begun to put antibacterial agents into most everyday products like cleansers, soaps,
toothbrushes, dishwashing detergents, hand lotion, window cleaner, chopsticks, plastic food
storage, pillows, sheets, towels, slipper, etc, (Levy, 2001). Since “Germs have become the
buzzword for a danger people want to eliminate,” from 1990 to 2010 the number of household
products with antibacterial agents escalated from a few to over 700 new products (Levy, 2001).
Several studies agree that the rise in antibiotics could be attributed to doctors feeling pressured to
prescribe unneeded antibiotics (Jennifer Brown, 2018; Edward Bell, 2009). Through the National
Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey
Antibiotic Resistance 3
conducted from 1995-2003 researchers found that doctors prescribed antibiotics to 53% of their
patients that they saw on annual visits for a sore throat which was (7.3 million patients) that
means that 3.8 million patients were prescribed antibiotics. This is 38% higher than the average
expected rate of antibiotic prescriptions (Bell, 2009). Corroborating this, a different source stated
that “nearly half of all antibiotics prescribed may be inappropriate," (“The latest reason why,”
2017). This is ultimately faulty due the increased adverse effects to taking antibiotics like
allergies and resistance. The decision to prescribe antibiotics has become much more “complex,
including diagnostic accuracy, parental pressure and desire, perceived need, time available per
Antibiotic Usage
People use antibiotics in animals because it allows the livestock to gain weight quicker
than naturally and protect them from illness (Mckenna, 2017). It has been hard to put regulation
on antibiotics since “growth promotion and disease prevention created modern industrial
farming” (Mckenna, 2017). This is the basis of the farming industry today, which allows the U.S
to keep its low prices. The pharmaceutical companies sold the U.S 34.3 million pounds of
antibiotics for its livestock. Just a few years earlier it was 7.7 million, this shows the drastic
Alison Moodie confirms that there has been an overuse of antibiotics given to livestock to
prevent infection and have the animals gain weight and agrees that there are detrimental effects
(2017). Due to the widespread use of antibiotics in livestock and humans a “superbug” has been
created where bacteria has grown resistant to antibiotics (Moodie, 2017). One in five resistant
infections are caused by germs in food from animals showing a high correlation between
antibiotics given to animals and infections (Moodie, 2017). Since this research and information
Antibiotic Resistance 4
has come to light, stores like Panera and Chipotle have vowed to implement new practices and
safety for their products, while Sonic and Burger King has fallen behind (Moodie, 2017).
There are two main ways that bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics. The first is
through genetic mutation. There are a variety of mutations that can cause different things.
Mutations can cause the bacteria to produce enzymes that inactivate the antibiotics, while others
“eliminate the cell target that the antibiotic attacks,” other kinds will close their ports off to block
the antibiotic from allowing it in the cell and others will make pumping mechanisms to export
the antibiotic back outside so it never reaches the “target”(“General Background”). The Genetic
Science Learning Center verifies this information and calls it “acquired resistance” when bacteria
changes and protects it self from the antibiotic (“Antibiotic Resistance”). The source then divides
acquired resistance into genetic change and getting DNA from a bacterium that is already
resistant which is the second way that that bacteria can acquire resistance (“Antibiotic
Resistance”). By mating also known as “conjugation” the bacteria transfer genetic material that
include genes that have resistance to antibiotics (“General Background”). Another way for
passing resistance between bacteria is through the head of a virus (“General Background”). An
interesting characteristic of resistance was even though antibiotic resistant traits are passed
through DNA it eventually can be lost the same way (“General Background”). Although, the
Genetic Science Learning Center divides bacteria that survive antibiotic treatment and multiply
into a new category the two sources essentially confirm that antibiotic resistance is mainly
Biomedical Engineering found that nanoparticles may offer a small solution to antibiotic
Antibiotic Resistance 5
resistance (Brown, 2018). By disrupting and attacking the cell membrane of the bacteria, the
nanoparticles would be able to offer a small solution to the epidemic (Brown, 2018). While this
solution is not corroborated by many it does offer hope in expansion of solutions. Meanwhile,
the World Health Organization has launched the Global Antimicrobial Surveillance System
(GLASS) to combat antibiotic resistant bacteria that has spread to 22 countries and infected
500,000 people. The director of GLASS, Dr. Marc Sprenger shared that “Some of the world’s
most common – and potentially most dangerous – infections are proving drug-resistant, [and
they] don’t respect borders,”(“High levels of antibiotic,” 2018). This has been proven by WHO’s
research tracking antibiotic research by region. Even though each region has their own specific
resistant strains they all commonly share high resistance to Staphylococcus aureus infection are
resistant to MRSA, therefore the standard antibiotics don’t work (“WHO’s first global report,”
2014).
Currently the FDA is fighting against antibiotic resistance by partnering with the CDC on
“Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work” to educate the public on preventing antibiotic
resistant infections. They are also encouraging the development of new antibiotics by looking at
clinical studies that evaluate how antibacterial drugs work and implementing new labeling
A chemist also found that Bacteriophages, the naturally occurring virus, could be used as a
possible solution in the future if research advances since they attack bacteria (Moskvitch, 2015).
complete the prescription, and never share antibiotics (Brown, 2018). Other sources present
preventive measures for pharmacists to only prescribe antibiotics when truly needed and
pharmacists to regulate appropriate use of medicine and foster research for new development
Antibiotic Resistance 6
(“WHO’s first global, 2014”). However, like Matthew Wellington said, preventive steps are
Conclusion
Overall, antibiotics has greatly impacted society; for better or for worse. After doing this
research it can be concluded that the United States should limit antibiotic usage. Although
antibiotics have saved many lives and cured deadly infections, the overuse and increase
References
(2014, April 30). WHO’s first global report on antibiotic resistance reveals serious, worldwide
http://www.who.int/mediac entre/news/releases/2014/amr-report/en/
utah.edu/content/microbiome/resistance/
Bell, A. Edward. (2009, February). Another reason to limit antibiotic use? Healio. Retrieved
from https://www.healio.com/infectious-disease/news/print/infectious-disease -
news/%7B3217ab08-8b28-4205-9788-72aceb2bff00%7D/another-reason-to-limit-
antibiotic-use
Brown, R. (2018, February 21). Nanoparticles offer hope in the fight against antibiotic resistant
antibiotic-resistant-bacteria/
Combating Antibiotic Resistance. U.S Food & Drug Administration. Retrieved from
https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm092810.htm
Davies, J., & Davies, D. (2010). Origins and Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance. Microbiology
Antibiotic Resistance 7
General Background: About Antibiotic Resistance. Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics.
Levy, S. B. (2001). Antibacterial Household Products: Cause for Concern. Emerging Infectious
Mckenna, Maryn. (2017, January 13). After Years of Debate, The FDA Finally Curtails
http://www.newsweek.com/after-years-debate-fda-curtails-antibiotic-use-livestock-54242
8.
Moodie, Alison. (2017, January 8). Will new FDA Rules Curb the Rise of Antibiotic Resistant
livestock
Moskvitch, Katia. (2015, January 28). How to Solve the Problem of Antibiotic Resistance.
/how-to-solve-the-problem-of-antibiotic-resistance/
The Latest Reason Why Hospitals Should Limit Antibiotic Use. (2017, April 7). University of
hospitals- should-limit-antibiotic-use