Antibiotic Resistance a Growing Threat to Health (VOA)

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Antibiotic Resistance Called Growing Threat to Human Health

Vidushi Sinha | Washington, DC, VOA

Experts fear antibiotic resistance puts humans in danger of becoming nearly

defenseless against some bacterial infections.

The World Health Organization calls antibiotic resistance one of the three

greatest threats to human health.

Dr. Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, calls on American lawmakers to address the problem.

" We speak of the pre-antibiotic and antibiotic eras, but if we don't improve our

response to the public health problem of antibiotic resistance, we may enter a

post- antibiotic world in which we will have few or no clinical interventions

for some infections, " he says.

Specialists are concerned that the more an antibiotic is used, the less

effective it becomes. The genetic mutation of bacteria, which makes them

resistant to antibiotics, is a natural process. But drug overuse has accelerated

the process.

The improper use of antibiotics has led to strains of bacteria that are

resistant to antibiotics.The improper use of antibiotics has led to strains of

bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.

Impact of drug overuse

" You end up with very resistant bacteria in the urinary tract. That's only one

example. Skin infections, lung infections, different bacteria causing these

types of infections as they become more and more resistant, and then you get to

more severe problem like tuberculosis in many parts of the world, " says Dr.

Poretz, an infectious disease specialist. " People are given little of

this and little of that to treat tuberculosis and tuberculosis germs develop

resistance. "

One of the most lethal infections born out of bacterial resistance is

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as MRSA which kills

19,000 people in the United States every year.

Since 2002, about 2 million MRSA infections have been acquired in US hospitals

each year. Poretz says these infections can spread globally.

" You can have worldwide resistance, some resistant to some drugs, some resistant

to other drugs in different parts of the world, " he says. " And with rapid travel

you can communicate those resistant bacteria to anyone here, there, there or

there. "

Cutting back

Drug companies have cut back on production of antibiotics, and that contributes

to the problem, scientists say. Less than optimal dosing means the target

bacteria survive and build resistance incrementally.

Dr. Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

(NIAID) says profits drive pharmaceutical companies to shy away from

antibiotics.

" So if they're going to make a choice of making a product that some, a lot of,

people are going to take every day for the rest of their lives, a lipid lowering

agent, whatever you have, they're going to lean towards that rather than to make

a new product that a relatively small proportion of the population will use

maybe 10 days to two weeks out of the year, " said Fauci.

Experts say the solution lies in educating patients and doctors to stop using

antibiotics when they are not necessary.

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