Antibiotic Resistance Industry: Rising Concerns over Global Antibiotic Resistance A Looming Public Health Crisis

 

Global Antibiotic Resistance 

What is Antibiotic Resistance Industry?/

Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria evolve and adapt to antibiotics, making the drugs less effective at treating infections. Over time, bacteria can change and develop resistance to multiple drugs, leaving doctors with limited treatment options. This happens through natural selection - when bacteria are exposed to antibiotics, those that have or develop resistance are able to survive and multiply, passing on their resistant genes. The more antibiotics are used and misused, the more resistance spreads.

How antibiotic resistance develops

There are several ways bacteria acquire resistance. One way is through mutations in their DNA which change the target site of the antibiotic. For example, penicillin works by inhibiting construction of the bacterial cell wall - resistance can arise via mutations altering the penicillin-binding proteins the drug targets. Alternatively, bacteria can acquire foreign DNA carrying resistance genes from other bacteria through horizontal gene transfer. Resistance genes are often carried on mobile genetic elements like plasmids that can swap DNA between bacteria. This allows resistance to spread rapidly between different species in environments where antibiotics are overused, like hospitals, farms, and soil.

Rising rates of Antibiotic Resistance Industry worldwide

The excessive and improper use of Global Antibiotic Resistance has sped up the development and spread of antibiotic resistance globally. According to the World Health Organization, antibiotic resistance is now a major threat in every region of the world. Multi-drug resistant pathogens are increasingly limiting treatment options for infections like pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhea, and salmonellosis. The Centers for Disease Control estimate at least 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections already occur in the United States each year, killing more than 35,000 people. If no action is taken, drug-resistant diseases could cause 10 million global deaths annually by 2050, outpacing cancer. Meanwhile, few new antibiotics are in development due to the high costs and difficulties of drug discovery.

Drivers of antibiotic overuse and misuse

There are several factors driving the overuse and misuse of antibiotics worldwide. In many countries, antibiotics can be purchased over the counter without a prescription from a doctor. This means they are taken for viral infections like colds and flu which antibiotics cannot treat. In livestock production, antibiotics are widely used for disease prevention and growth promotion rather than treatment of sick animals. Up to 80% of antibiotics in the U.S. are sold for use in food animal production. Poor infection control in healthcare settings also contributes as antibiotics are overprescribed for surgical procedures and to hospitalized patients on a broad-spectrum basis. Lack of public awareness about resistance and how to use antibiotics properly has compounded problems.

Economic and health impacts of antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistance poses major economic costs as well as consequences for public health. Healthcare systems face increasing treatment costs for difficult-to-treat drug-resistant infections, including longer hospital stays. Losses in agricultural productivity could reach $100 billion annually by 2050 if resistance rises unchecked. But costs are difficult to quantify compared to lives lost - by 2050, antibiotic resistance may cause more deaths each year than cancer if left unaddressed. People with weakened immune systems will be especially at risk, including newborns, elderly patients, and those undergoing chemotherapy. Once treatable infections could become lethal once again. The development of "superbugs" resistant to all or most antibiotics represents a serious global crisis with the potential to plunge medicine back to the pre-antibiotic era.

International efforts to combat resistance

With governments worldwide now recognizing antibiotic resistance as a critical threat, coordinated international action is underway. The World Health Organization published a global action plan in 2015 outlining policy measures countries should implement, like surveillance of antimicrobial use and resistance, regulating antibiotic sales, improving infection control, and fostering new drug development. The United Nations has also passed resolutions on the issue. In the U.S., the National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria establishes federal goals and outlines a 'One Health' approach recognizing the connections between human, animal, and environmental health.

 

Successful mitigation will require sustained multilateral cooperation and resources over many years to change behaviors, stemming both human and agricultural overuse of existing drugs while new alternatives are developed. Continued public education is also essential to slowing resistance worldwide.

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