Bacterial infections must be diagnosed properly so that antibiotics are not used unless they will have an effect. For example, viral infections cannot be treated using antibiotics. The issue of self-medication means people without expert knowledge are attempting to diagnose themselves with bacterial infections which can be treated using antibiotics. Infections should instead only be diagnosed by a professional, as selfdiagnosis is much more likely to be wrong. Conclusions
Antibiotic resistance can be controlled easily right now, but if the current situation continues to worsen, we will reach a point in the future where the spread of some bacterial infections becomes uncontrollable, and we will be able to do nothing about it. Changes must be made urgently before this point is reached. References Ahmad, M. and Khan, A. U.( 2019)‘ Global economic impact of antibiotic resistance: A review.’ Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance, 19 pp. 313-316 Bajpai, V. K. et al.( 2017)‘ Self-medication and antibiotic resistance: Crisis, current challenges, and prevention.’ Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 24( 4) pp. 808-812
The darker blue portion clearly shows a huge, very worrying, predicted rise in death rates by AMR by 2050. The figure indicates that although death rates are still relatively small, AMR is increasingly becoming a much larger problem. In figure 7b it is apparent that the majority of predicted AMR deaths in 2050 are in Africa and Asia. This can be explained by points mentioned previously; in developing countries health care is very expensive leading to a lot of self-medication as it avoids the need for a professional. Also, prescription drugs in these countries can be easily purchased without the need for a prescription( Bajpai et al., 2017). This means AMR is much more widespread in less developed countries. The World Bank believes that due to AMR, by 2050 annual global gross domestic product( GDP), the value of all goods and services produced, will fall by between 1.1 % and 3.8 %, and in low income countries the fall could exceed 5 % of their annual GDP. Also, there may be up to an additional 28.3 million people falling into extreme poverty in 2050 due to AMR.
Other impacts of AMR by 2050 are increases in global healthcare costs that may be in excess of US $ 300 billion per year, and a decrease in global livestock production which may be between 2.6 % and 7.5 % per year. According to the OECD, more intensive and also more expensive healthcare will be needed by patients due to resistance, with hospitals being required to spend up to an extra US $ 40,000 to treat a resistant bacterial infection.( Ahmad and Khan, 2019).
To avoid the current resistance crisis becoming much worse in the future, antibiotic use needs to be controlled. In many developing countries there are poor laws regarding the dispensing of antibiotics, making it too easy for antibiotics to be misused. It needs to be harder to get antibiotics, so they are only used when necessary.
Bacterial infections must be diagnosed properly so that antibiotics are not used unless they will have an effect. For example, viral infections cannot be treated using antibiotics. The issue of self-medication means people without expert knowledge are attempting to diagnose themselves with bacterial infections which can be treated using antibiotics. Infections should instead only be diagnosed by a professional, as selfdiagnosis is much more likely to be wrong. Conclusions
The public needs to be educated on how to use antibiotics properly, and on antibiotic resistance as well as its causes( Bajpai et al., 2017). Many people do not know they are using antibiotics wrongly, and that they could be adding to the resistance crisis. Also, the development of antibiotic resistance is not something that would be immediately obvious to someone without a certain level of scientific knowledge, which not everyone has.
Antibiotic resistance can be controlled easily right now, but if the current situation continues to worsen, we will reach a point in the future where the spread of some bacterial infections becomes uncontrollable, and we will be able to do nothing about it. Changes must be made urgently before this point is reached. References Ahmad, M. and Khan, A. U.( 2019)‘ Global economic impact of antibiotic resistance: A review.’ Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance, 19 pp. 313-316 Bajpai, V. K. et al.( 2017)‘ Self-medication and antibiotic resistance: Crisis, current challenges, and prevention.’ Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 24( 4) pp. 808-812
Benveniste, R. and Davies, J.( 1973)‘ Mechanisms of Antibacterial Resistance in Bacteria.’ Annual Review of Biochemistry, 42 pp. 471-506 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.( 2019) US antibiotic use rates by state. [ Online image ] [ Accessed 30 May 2020 ] https:// www. cdc. gov / antibiotic-use / community / images / materials / Antibiotic-Prescriptions-Map-2017. jpg 26