Antibiotics are even used for animals in factory farms. More than 95% of meat in the
US comes from factory farms - to put that into perspective, it’s a lot of meat. These
animals live together in tight, enclosed areas known to be filthy and unkept - the
perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Farmers give antibiotics to these animals,
which exposes the bacteria to them. The bacteria that are more resistant to the
antibiotics can “share” their genetic mutation through plasmids to other bacteria.
The resistant bacteria can also multiply over time, making more bacteria with the
resistant gene. This bacteria becomes more resistant, and can be spread to
humans.
Special drugs are available to treat the superbugs (bacteria that has become
resistant to multiple antibiotics). These drugs are only used as a last resort in
hospitals and aren't sold normally, as they can have horrid side effects for the
consumer. The problem is that we have already started seeing bacteria become
resistant to these special ‘last-resort’ antibiotics. In fact, a strand of e-coli has been
discovered to be resistant to two last resort antibiotics; Colistin and Carbapenem.
Now, you may be wondering how to pronounce the names of these drugs… we
don’t quite know either… we just know they’re important.
don
This could mean that we are either on the verge of an antibiotic apocalypse, or just
another small obstacle that we have to tackle in the constant war against bacteria.
Antibiotic resistance is already a serious problem. It is believed that about 700,000
people around the world die every year because of antibiotic resistance. If we don't
do anything and if we can't find a solution to this massive issue, we could end up like
we were back in the Middle Ages, with a high infant mortality rate and people
dropping dead from common, everyday diseases. If doctors can keep finding new
cures, then we'll be safe for the moment, but there might eventually be a point where
there are no more cures to find.
The problem is that we take antibiotics for granted. We don't realise how bad life
was (and could be) without antibiotics, and instead we overuse them. Be aware of
this problem. Don't waste your antibiotics, don't misuse them, finish the antibiotics
that your doctor prescribes.
Stay conscious of antibiotic resistance, and don't let it become an even larger
problem than it already is.
Charles Newham and Matthew Warren