Antibiotic Resistance : A Global Pandemic

First discovered in 1928, naturally found antibiotics have been used in different fields to treat infections and prevent bacteria propagation in humans and livestock. The groundbreaking discovery in medical science, antibiotics played a crucial role in controlling disease epidemics and treating lethal infections such as pneumonia which led to great advancement in treating patients who would have passed away without antibiotics. Unfortunately, over time, the overprescription of antibiotics has caused the development of antibiotic resistance in a growing number of bacteria. The antibiotic resistance epidemic has opened doors for the development of ‘super bacteria' that are ultimately untreatable. Amidst a global pandemic, the effects of antibiotic resistance have taken a toll on the development of efficient vaccines while the future lies in a blur without the endorsement of precautionary measures to stop the spread of the antibody resistance epidemic.

Antibodies are a type of antimicrobial substance that either kills or halts the propagation of bacteria. Major types of antibiotics include penicillin, cephalosporins, tetracyclines, and aminoglycosides that all function differently to stop bacteria growth. Some antibiotics interrupt the complex mechanism of bacteria by impeding cell wall formation, or bacteria organelles. Other antibiotics prevent the synthesis of protein and genetic material (DNA and RNA). The mechanism of ancient organisms thriving on earth from billions of years ago, antibiotics have been promising at bacteria control. Therefore, companies mass-produced antibodies for commercial purposes since 1940, a few years after antibodies played a major role in saving the lives of soldiers during World War II. The success of the market advocated for further research leading to the use of antibodies in livestock, which is now a dominant market for antibodies. Farmers use antibodies to combat bacteria inflicted disease and also to promote animal growth.

As promising as the new advancement was, antibodies were used as the ‘cure for all’ medicine without precautionary measures. During the years of contact between bacteria and the different types of antibiotics, Darwin’s Theory of Evolution of the survival of the strongest played its role, leaving the bacterias with mutations against antibiotics to thrive. The mutations included bacteria developing a protective shield on the cell wall to eject antibodies out of the bacteria and even producing enzymes that neutralize the antibiotics. This phenomenon was already predicted from the very first discovery of antibiotics from Alexander Fleming, as he stated in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech of 1945, “Then there is the danger that the ignorant man may easily underdose himself and by exposing his microbes to non-lethal quantities of the drug, make them resistant.” Some bacteria with resistance to almost all known antibodies become super bacteria that must now be treated with another novel cure. One example of a rising super bacteria is one that causes Tuberculosis(TB), a disease that takes the lives of 1.1 million lives every year.

There are three different ways to combat antibiotic resistance. The first method is to enforce the importance of finishing an antibiotic prescription to patients. By doing so, the bacteria in the body are eliminated by the antibody, and no bacteria is left behind with mutation possibilities. The next method is to control the over prescription of antibiotics. Antibiotics are a last resort medicine to stop infections or the propagation of bacteria. This means a cold does not require antibiotic treatment. The third method is to stop the mass use of antibiotics in livestock. Bacterias in prior contact to antibodies used to promote the growth of animals and fight infection is passed through the food chain to humans. The fourth is to develop and research new alternatives for antibodies. With all existing and further efforts to mitigate antibiotic resistance, there will be the need for sustainable alternatives of antibodies. This entire process to combat antibiotic resistance requires immense amounts of funding. However, the antibody market became no longer ‘profitable' which led them to turn away from antibody research altogether. Since 1980, due to this fact, there has been a slow development of antibiotic medicine while resistance continued to permeate in different types of bacteria.