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Jameson C.
Ms Emma, Ms Liz
8a Science
3 May, 2019

In 1940 a woman named Anne Miller was about to die from a

Staph infection. She had tried everything, and when they
tested her for the
amount of bacterial colonies in her blood, a very simple yet
very powerful symbol came up that meant her death was near:
∞. The hospital, desperate to save her, called in penicillin, a
new drug that had only been tried on a human subject four
Courtesy of Baylor University
https://www.bcm.edu/departments/molecular-virology-

and-microbiology/emerging-infections-and-biodefense/mrs​
times. Unfortunately, every one of them had died. 5.5 grams of
the new drug came in to that hospital, and it was half of the
United State’s supply. The doctors had no clue how much a
dose was. They made one up, and she was given a small dose
once every 4 hours. Within a day or two, she was completely
healed, and walked out of the hospital alive and grateful.
Unfortunately, penicillin doesn’t work the way it used to, and
cases like Anne Miller’s miracle will never happen again.
Antibiotic resistance is a very real threat to humanity.
Resistance causes bacteria to not be affected by antibodies
and bacteria then become immune to possible life saving
treatments. Humanity needs a new way to stop antibiotic
resistant bacteria.
Courtesy of Learn.Genetics
https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/microbiome/resistance/

Antibiotic resistance happens

naturally to bacteria that are exposed to
drugs that are supposed to kill them. For
example, Methicillin, a drug in the
family of penicillin, was implemented
into hospitals in 1960. Within a year,
resistance in the Staph A genepool was
​ his new ‘Superbug’ was named
found.​ T
MRSA. Methicillin Resistant Staph
Aureus is a very dangerous condition
that is becoming more and more
common. It exploded faster than anyone
Courtesy of World Economic Forum
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https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/05/is-this-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-antibiotics/
thought, and hospitals reported more and more resistance throughout the years to follow.
Unfortunately, MRSA is actually in the community now, spreading it even faster.
Neosporin, one of the most common antibodies
on Earth, is basically useless these days. Cuts and
abrasions with bacteria are now actually made worse
(most of the time) by applying it, because it is more
likely that an antibiotic resistant infection would result,
rather than stopping it.

Antibiotic resistance is the

biggest imminent threat to our
society, with TB, Staph A, and
Pseudomonas, along with
millions of other types,
developing resistance and
killing more people every
minute. Scientists and doctors
need to find alternate ways to
treat these new superbugs.
XDR TB (extensively drug
resistant Tuberculosis) is not
only very deadly, but very
expensive to treat, according to
the CDC. Lots of medications were available for TB 5-10 years ago, but now a lot of them are
mundane now. It usually costs around $18,000 to get rid of normal TB, but it costs $500,000 for
XDR TB. (CDC Tuberculosis). This is just one example of the tolls around the world. If a patient
has cancer, for instance, and a person with MRSA is in the hospital, the cancer patient is much
more likely to catch it. From there, they will probably die.

To stop this, everyone need to stop overprescribing antibiotics. It’s a simple test to see if
a person has a bacterial infection or not. If a patient is prescribed antibiotics for a virus, the Staph
and other random bacteria in our bodies can form resistance. Then, if that patient is fighting off
another illness, these microbes will strike, causing a serious infection and often death.
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Meanwhile, they’ll be spreading it to others. They could carry it asymptomatically, spreading it

to loved ones and other patients in critical treatment, if in a medical setting.
Everyone also need to give tremendous support to new antibodies in development, because these
drugs will be the ones to save us from a major pandemic. Keep wounds clean, and bacteria
should be kept at bay.

In conclusion, scientists need to find alternate ways to stop bacteria. It is one of the
biggest threats to humanity, and it’s never been seen before. Many people will die, and with
enough backup, scientists can come up with new ways to fight back. If someone is sick, don’t
request antibodies right away. Request for a blood test, and the results will be back in a day or
two. The world is changing around us faster than ever, and we need to adapt.
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Works Cited

“Drug-Resistant TB | TB |CDC.” ​Centers for Disease Control and Prevention​, Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/drtb/default.htm.

“General Information | MRSA | CDC.” ​Centers for Disease Control and Prevention​, Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/mrsa/community/index.html.

“Methods for the Control of MRSA.” ​World Health Organization,​ World Health Organization,

who.int/.

Rosen, William. ​Miracle Cure: the Creation of Antibiotics and the Birth of Modern Medicine.​

Viking, 2017.

Images

MRSA cell:

https://www.bcm.edu/departments/molecular-virology-and-microbiology/emerging-in

fections-and-biodefense/mrsa

AMR explanation pic:

https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/microbiome/resistance/

Annual death, 2050:

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/05/is-this-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-antibi

otics/

Other graphs:

Created by Jameson C, using info from CDC.gov and who.int