Antibiotic resistance developed long before their active use, which today borders on addiction. Genes needed to protect against antibiotics have been found in ancient bacteria that have lived in Arctic permafrost for more than 30,000 years. Bacteria did not need such a genetic defense mechanism at the time, but things are very different now, when we take antibiotics in the presence of any real or imagined threat. In other words, we have created ideal conditions for life and "prosperity" antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Alexander Fleming himself warned about antibiotic resistance
Sir Alexander Fleming, the British bacteriologist who became famous for the discovery of penicillin, warned future generations as early as 1946 about the risk of developing antibiotic resistance in bacteria. In an interview with New York Times magazine, Fleming stated: penicillin bacteria. I hope this evil can be avoided.
Thanks to the antibiotics isoniazid and rifampicin, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) was virtually eradicated in the West at one time (although it has never been driven out of the world). In our time, tuberculosis has not just returned, but has become resistant to antibiotics (isoniazid and rifampicin) in countries such as Papua – New Guinea, India, China and Russia.
Alexander Fleming warned about the risk of antibiotic resistance in bacteria as early as 1946.
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis has been called "winged ebola". The disease is easily transmitted through coughing or sneezing, and the survival rate (even with the best medical care) is about 50%.
However, the – just the tip of the iceberg called "antibiotic resistance problem". Every year in the US, at least 2 million people contract antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, and more than 20,000 of them die. Among other bacteria, resistant to antibiotics:
- Escherichia coli – coli – causative agent of gastroenteritis;
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa – Pseudomonas aeruginosa – causative agent of nosocomial infections and a number of other diseases.
Sexually transmitted infections (syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia) are no less a problem, which are also of bacterial origin. In our time, there are already problems with the treatment of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea.
Can antibiotic resistance be overcome by developing new drugs?
This option seems to be the easiest way out, but, unfortunately, it is not. The development of new antibiotics has declined significantly in recent years as the pharmaceutical industry aims for more "profitable" alternatives. cancer and heart drug markets that are highly profitable.
According to the Infectious Diseases Society of America, every antibiotic used today is a derivative of drugs discovered before 1984. The development of antibiotics presents scientific, regulatory and economic challenges for pharmaceutical companies. Therefore, drug manufacturers are in no hurry to deal with this problem.
Is there a solution to antibiotic resistance?
The first thing to do is – follow the rules for taking antibiotics. The advisability of taking antibiotics, for example, in some cases of ear infections or infections of the genitourinary system (but in any case it is up to the doctor), as well as the need to complete a full course of antibiotics are now being questioned.
About 70% of antibiotics are used without good reason.
However, it is not only physicians who need to change the practice of antibiotic use: patients must understand that these drugs – not a panacea for any cold. The fact is that most upper respiratory tract infections are viral in nature, while antibiotics can only kill bacteria.
The scientific community has repeatedly recommended stopping or at least reducing the use of antibiotics in agriculture. WHO called on the agricultural sector to find an alternative to antibiotics (immunization) or to improve animal hygiene and biosecurity to avoid infection. Farmers are advised to give antibiotics only to animals with bacterial infections.
Antibiotic resistance: more radical solutions
Medication control, however, is not an effective way to combat antibiotic resistance, so scientists are working on innovative methods to address this problem. Nature already has a reliable weapon against bacteria – bacteriophage ("bacteria eaters"). Bacteriophages parasitize bacteria in order to reproduce themselves and spread among other bacteria.
Read also: An alternative to antibiotics: bacteriophages against infections
Bacteriophages were discovered as early as 1915 and were used during World War II to treat gangrene. Bacteriophages are now being considered as a possible solution to the problem of antibiotic resistance.
Of course, the idea of developing new antibiotics is not discarded, but in this case there is a high probability that in the future bacteria will adapt to new generation drugs.
Based on BBC Future.
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