Antibiotic Resistance
In modern medicine, antibiotics stand as a cornerstone in the battle against bacterial infections, offering a lifeline to millions of people worldwide. Many antibiotics can successfully treat infections caused by bacteria. Antibiotics can prevent the spread of disease, and they can also reduce serious disease complications. However, some of the antibiotics that were formerly the standard treatments for bacterial infections are no longer as effective. When an antibiotic no longer works against some strains of bacteria, those bacteria are said to be antibiotic-resistant. Antibiotic resistance is one of the world’s most urgent health problems. The overuse of antibiotics are key factors leading to antibiotic resistance.
Antibiotic overuse is when a person uses antibiotics too often or for the wrong reasons. This will make bacteria start resisting the drug and make it change in some way. The change may protect the bacteria from the drug’s effects or limit the drug’s access to the bacteria. In other word, the more antibiotics you use, the more your body normalizes them, and the faster resistance to them will emerge. When the drugs stop working, people can die of some infections, like pneumonia or gonorrhea.
No drug is without risk or side effects. Overusing antibiotics can cause various side effects, depending on individual circumstances and the specific drug. These can include diarrhea, gastrointestinal disturbances, constipation, heart rhythm changes, organ damage. This can also be a risk of developing a Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infection, which is a kind of bacteria that can cause serious digestive issues such as colon inflammation.
Some projections now predict that infections resistant to antibiotics could surpass cancer as the top cause of death worldwide, causing as many as 10 million fatalities a year by 2050. Through CDC’s (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Antibiotic Resistance Solutions Initiative, the agency collaborates with countries throughout the world to improve antibiotic use, track resistance, and implement infection prevention and control activities in healthcare settings, where antibiotic resistance can emerge and amplify the spread. For example, in Vietnam, partners like the Ministry of Health, and local experts are working to establish a national surveillance system, which provides structure to track antibiotic resistance, guide prevention strategies, and report results at the local and global level. Vietnam has made fighting antibiotic resistance a national priority.
Overall, antibiotic overuse can damage an individual’s health, causing immediate complications such as side effects and drug interactions. It is also a public health threat that can increase antibiotic resistance, leading to resistant bacterial infections. If people find out that they may have an infection caused by bateria, finding doctor can best advise on the right course of treatment.
