Modern medicine is a victim of its own success. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has sounded the alarm, warning that we are running out of usable antibiotics, calling antibiotic resistance “one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today.” Doctors have raised concerns about antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a situation exacerbated by patients who fail to complete a course of prescribed antibiotics or take antibiotics for infections where the medicine would be ineffective.
When prescribed antibiotics, some patients take upon themselves the decision to stop taking the antibiotics before they have run their course. This allows the bacteria to grow in the presence of the antibiotic, thereby lessening the antibiotic's effect on them.
A World at Risk
Today’s healthcare professionals prescribe antibiotics to treat bacterial infections, but they are not a universal cure-all. Beyond affecting the individual with a longer bout of illness, such behaviour also reduces “crowd immunity,” or the ability of our society in general to fight disease.
Antibiotic-resistant infections have been rising worldwide.
The WHO states that an ever-expanding list of infections, including pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhoea, and salmonellosis, are becoming increasingly difficult to treat. This is because the antibiotics used to treat them have become less effective.
As bacteria reproduce even under the onslaught of antibiotics, more resilient strains of bacteria emerge. Patient misuse is a substantial contributor to the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Combined, these factors reduce the effectiveness of the antibiotics.
Misuse
Two main patient behaviours are to blame for increased antibiotic-resistant bacteria:
- Treating non-bacterial infections with antibiotics — A basic science illiteracy in many people allows them to confuse bacteria with viruses, two completely different types of infection vectors. Bacteria are single-celled organisms; viruses are small, infectious, non-living agents that can only replicate (not reproduce) inside living cells.
- Failing to complete a prescribed course of antibiotics — Feeling better, the patient stops taking the last few days of medications, allowing the bacteria that survived the first few days of treatment to roar back, stronger and tougher than ever.
Spread
Due to our interconnected society, an asymptomatic patient can board a plane and travel to a distant country within a few hours, potentially allowing them to spread the bacterial infection.
Say you had a bacterial infection, felt better, and stopped taking your antibiotics. You may show no symptoms, but still harbour a thriving, growing colony of bacteria in your lungs, digestive tract, urinary tract, or throat.
Arriving at a distant shore, you could spread illness in many ways:
- Coughing or sneezing
- Skin-to-skin contact
- Touching food with unwashed hands
- Sharing body fluids (saliva, blood, semen) with others
As you spend time abroad, you may mistake bacterial illness for a reaction to local food, weather, or water. Oblivious to the stronger, bacterial-resistant infection inside you, you may spread the bacterial infection to local populations.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics, like the bacteria they target, are living organisms. Over time, the bacteria the antibiotic is designed to target may become resistant to it as they evolve. Under normal circumstances, natural resistance can take many years to develop.
But when patient misuse enters the picture, that rise to resilience may take considerably less time. Left to continue developing resistance to antibiotics, the bacteria have the potential to become so-called "superbugs," such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), super gonorrhoea, or drug-resistant chlamydia.
Once bacteria become resistant, the resistance is passed on to other strains of the same bacteria. The British Medical Bulletin identifies “injudicious use of antibiotics” as a major factor increasing the spread of resistance worldwide:
“In many areas, the availability of antibiotics ‘over the counter’ or via the internet allows the non-prescriber to have free and unrestricted access to these agents.”
Adding to the hastening spread of "superbugs:"
- Poor personal hygiene
- Unsafe food preparation
- Unsanitary toilet facilities
Finish Your Medicines
Every patient can help reduce the spread of antibiotic-resistant strains of superbugs. The NHS politely but firmly reminds us to:
- Avoid asking for antibiotics for viral illnesses like colds, sore throats, or influenza
- Complete your full course of antibiotics to completely eliminate the possibility that infectious, harmful bacteria remain in your system
Heed the advice of health professionals. Do not insist on antibiotics for mild illnesses or for viral infections. When your doctor prescribes antibiotics, always take the entire course of medicine, whether a 10-day course of oral antibiotics or a topical cream for a skin infection.
Everyone has the ability to reduce the spread and future development of "superbugs." Do your part by taking all your prescribed antibiotics as directed. If you have questions or concerns about your antibiotics, please consult your doctor.
