What can I do about antibiotic resistance?
Most of us have taken antibiotics at some point in our lives. From treating acne to preventing surgical complications, antibiotics have revolutionized Western medicine since Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928.
But the revolution may soon be over. More than 23,000 people die every year from antibiotic-resistant infections in the U.S., according to the CDC. Worldwide deaths from antibiotic-resistance are expected to climb to 10 million deaths per year by 2050.
That’s more people than currently die from cancer, but pharmaceutical companies haven’t given antibiotic development adequate priority. It’s just not cost-effective for them, and given the current rate of antibiotic abuse, a newly developed antibiotic would be obsolete in just a couple years.
How have antibiotics been abused?
A combination of overprescription by doctors and misuse (not completing the full course of antibiotics, reusing old antibiotics, improper disposal of leftover antibiotics) by patients has led to a number of infamous “superbugs”, including MRSA and C-difficile. These strains of bacteria are resistant to antibiotics because of a form of artificial selection.
When you take an antibiotic, it may not necessarily kill every single infectious bacterium. One or more may have a random mutation that, by chance, keeps it alive, making it resistant to the antibiotic.
But it won’t stay just one bacterium for long. It will quickly make copies of itself, and it can even exchange genes — including the resistant mutation — with unrelated bacteria.
As the resistant bacteria spread to new people, they succumb to an infection that typical antibiotics cannot treat. Sometimes using a slightly different antibiotic helps. But with the drastic deceleration in new antibiotic development, we have increasingly limited options for tackling emerging superbugs.
What can I — a person who does occasionally need antibiotics — do to prevent resistance?
The most important thing you can do is follow your doctor’s directions for using your antibiotics. If you do end up having leftover antibiotics, do not keep them for later use. You probably won’t have enough left to fully kill all of the bacteria if you try to use them to treat a later infection, and their overall effectiveness will decrease with time.
You should always get rid of leftover antibiotics, but do not flush them. They can leak into the water supply and contribute to resistance. Properly dispose of them in the trash, or ideally, take them to an organization like Walgreens that organizes safe medicine disposal.
You should also be skeptical when they’re prescribed. Ask if there is an alternative treatment, and convey your concerns about antibiotic resistance to your doctor. Never insist on being prescribed antibiotics to treat an infection — if it’s viral or fungal and not bacterial, antibiotics won’t do you any good, but they will still contribute to resistance.
Last but not least, as consumers and as citizens, we have a responsibility to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable. We can demand more rigorous standards from doctors and other antibiotics prescribers. We can put pressure on drug developers to make new antibiotics through boycotts, regulations, and economic incentives. We can support public and private research institutions that have taken the initiative on developing solutions.
If we want to save 10 million lives in 2050, we have to start today.
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