The antimicrobial resistance crisis

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• By Shrijita Das

Antibiotics are used worldwide to prevent and treat bacterial infections. The prevalent use of antibiotics has resulted in antibiotic resistance, which is witnessed as a global threat. The major causes of antibiotic resistance include over-prescription of antibiotics, i.e. prescribing excessive antibiotics or unnecessary treatment of any infection with antibiotics (minor, serious or even viral infection), improper antibiotic dosage intake (patients not taking them for the entire prescribed course) and antibiotics usage among livestock and fish to prevent infections. In antibiotic resistance, the bacteria develop resistance at the cellular level, either by mutations or by acquiring resistance through horizontal gene transfer. This leads to numerous other problems, such as increased mortality rate, increased time spent by the patient in the hospital as well as increased overall medical costs. Antibiotic resistance is increasing at an alarming rate in all parts of the world. Researchers are designing many new antibiotics every day but the common infectious diseases are yet getting difficult to get treated. This is proving to be a major setback in the advancement of medical science as a lot of efforts are going in vain. Hence, a proper prescription and elaborate guidelines to use antibiotics can go a long way in fighting this problem. Thus, as responsible members of this society, we should lend a hand to this ever-increasing problem. A moderate, prescribed dosage of antibiotic intake can really help in preventing the spread of resistant bacteria. This is high time that we regulate our antibiotic misuse, and only ingest antibiotics when prescribed by healthcare professionals to help ourselves and society in fighting this burning problem.

Keywords: Antibiotics, Antimicrobial resistance, Antibiotics misuse, Infectious diseases, Global healthcare

Image source:
The rise of superbugs: Facing the antibiotic resistance crisis by Maria Cohut, available under Royalty-free license at https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327050

Citation:
Shrijita Das. The antimicrobial resistance crisis. The Torch. 2021. 2 (4).
Available from: https://www.styvalley.com/pub/magazines/torch/read/the-antimicrobial-resistance-crisis/.

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