The Huge Impact of Antibiotic Resistance: A Threat To Everyone

Antibiotics are a class of drugs that can save life. However, irrational or indiscriminate use will cause havoc. Irrational use causes the number of germs that are resistant (resistant to drugs) to increase. Before discussing what is meant by resistance, we should know an important fact regarding this: This condition is one of the problems of global health, food safety and world development today.

It can happen to anyone, any age and in any country.
Can occur naturally, but irrational use of drugs in humans or animals can accelerate this process.

Increase the incidence of infections such as pneumonia (pneumonia), tuberculosis, gonorrhoea, and typhoid infections

In addition, this infectious condition will be difficult to treat with antibiotics because these drugs become less effective.

Antibiotic resistance causes longer hospital stays, increases health costs, and increases mortality.

Antibiotics are important drugs. Penicillin and other drug classes play a role in overcoming the problem of infections caused by bacteria, preventing disease transmission, and reducing the risk of complications from infectious diseases. Treatment with antibiotics also has problems. Currently, drugs used as standard treatment for certain bacterial infections are sometimes less effective or even not work at all.

When a type of antibiotic no longer has an effect on several types of bacteria, the bacteria are said to be antibiotic resistant. Irrational use of antibiotics (overuse or inappropriate use) is an important factor that contributes to antibiotic resistance. All of us, doctors, health care centers such as puskesmas or hospitals, and other health care workers must play a role in the proper use of these drugs and reduce the development of antibiotic resistance.

What causes antibiotic resistance?

Bacteria or germs will be resistant to the drug (resistant) if the germs change some way to protect themselves against the effects of the drug or make the drug inactive (neutralize the action of the drug).

Bacteria that can survive antibiotic treatment can multiply and reduce the immunity to the bacteria that were dividing earlier. Thus, the ability to be resistant to antibiotics in bacteria can be transferred to other bacteria. They created a mechanism to help each other survive the antibiotics

The fact that bacteria can develop resistance to a drug is a normal and predictable condition. However, the way a drug is used will affect how quickly and how widely the spread of drug resistance takes place

Excessive use of antibiotics

Overuse of antibiotics, especially when antibiotics are not an appropriate treatment option, increases the chances of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics treat bacterial infections rather than viral infections. For example, antibiotics suitable for the treatment of a sore throat are only given if the sore throat is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes or other bacterial species. In fact, most sore throats can be caused by viral infections that do not require antibiotics.

If you take antibiotics while you actually have a viral infection, these drugs will still attack the bacteria in your body. Even without illness, the body actually has bacteria that are beneficial and do not cause disease.

Incorrect treatment causes antibiotic resistance in normal bacteria and then they will decrease that ability with other bacteria. Some viral infections that will not benefit from antibiotics include:

1. Cold
2. Flu
3. Bronchitis
4. Most coughs
5. Most sore throats
6. Some ear infections
7. Some sinus infections

It is possible that several factors are contributing too much. When penicillin and other antibiotics were first introduced, they were considered miracle drugs because they worked quickly and with relatively few side effects. They seemed like the answer to all the common ailments of those days.

Despite the increasing awareness of antibiotic resistance in recent years, overuse still occurs for several reasons:

• Doctors may prescribe antibiotics before receiving test results that identify the true cause of the infection.
• People who want a faster recovery from symptoms, regardless of the cause of the disease, can put pressure on doctors to prescribe antibiotics.
• People might use antibiotics which are leftovers from previous prescriptions

Consequences of Antibiotic Resistance

Over the years, the introduction of new antibiotics outpaced the development of antibiotic resistance. However, in recent years, the rate of drug resistance has contributed to an increasing number of health care problems.

In the United States, according to a 2013 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least 2 million people each year:

“get a serious infection with bacteria that are resistant to one or more of the antibiotics that are the standard of care for treating those infections.”

And at least 23,000 people die each year as a result of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. The increasing number of drug-resistant infections is causing:

1. More serious illness or disability
2. More deaths from diseases that were previously easily treatable
3. Prolonged recovery
4. More or longer hospitalizations
5. More doctor visits
6. Less effective or more invasive treatments
7. More expensive treatments

The impact of antibiotic resistance is so great that for that a doctor must provide education and understanding to the public how to use antibiotics rationally and apply them in daily clinical practice.

Reference:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/antibiotics/art-20045720?pg=2
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/antibiotic-resistance/en/