Antibiotic resistance appeared on the planet long before we started using it with an enthusiasm that borders on addiction. The same genes that modern bacteria acquire to protect themselves from the effects of drugs were found in an ancient bacterium frozen in the permafrost layer about 30,000 years ago.
Ancient bacteria with antibiotic resistance
Antibiotic resistance develops naturally in bacteria, and sometimes antibiotics themselves can cause the development of new resistant genes. In addition, bacteria are able to transfer new genes, thereby providing a high level of adaptability to new types of antibiotics.
Historic bacteria found in the Arctic permafrost show resistance to today's most effective antibiotics. However, during the time these bacteria were active, antibiotic resistance was not particularly beneficial. The prehistoric people who hunted mammoths and barely learned how to control fire did not have medicines that microorganisms needed to defend against.
Today we, the descendants of those people who relied on immunity to fight bacteria, hide behind antibiotics as a mighty shield, defending ourselves against any real and imagined disease. It is our own fault that we have created ideal conditions for the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
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Fleming's warning
In an interview with the New York Times, the famous scientist who discovered the first antibiotic penicillin and its medicinal properties, Alexander Fleming, warned of the danger of abuse of the miracle drug. Back in 1946, he talked about the possible development of resistance to penicillin if it was used frequently. Fleming was sincerely afraid that the high public demand that his find enjoyed would lead to the fact that bacteria would soon appear, evolving into a new form with better protection and resistance. Fleming's quote reads as follows: "A person mindlessly playing with penicillin to treat everything in the end will be morally responsible for the death of someone who could not fight an infection that turned out to be resistant to penicillin."
Apparently, we are all responsible for the global spread of antibiotic-resistant infections that has been observed recently.
How serious is it?
Have you forgotten about tuberculosis yet? If forgotten, this is due to the fact that antibiotics such as isoniazid and rifampicin, coped with the frequent and widespread infections of this disease. Unfortunately, the causative agent of tuberculosis Mycobacterium tuberculosis has not disappeared anywhere, but, on the contrary, has adapted to modern drugs.
Tuberculosis is back today, and it is even more dangerous than ever, because now the pathogen bacterium has acquired multidrug resistance, that is, resistance to several antibiotics. Now she is not afraid of either isoniazid or rifampicin. The evolved infection is gaining momentum in Papua New Guinea, India, China and Russia.
This multidrug-resistant strain has already earned the nickname "Ebola on the Wings". It is transmitted by airborne droplets, and the chance to survive after infection is 50 to 50.
The tip of the iceberg
Tuberculosis is only part of the antibiotic resistance problem facing humankind in the new century. According to the US Department of Health, about two million people in the country every year become infected with an infection with some form of antibiotic resistance and more than 20 thousand infected die, despite attempts to treat.
Infections such as gastroenteritis or intestinal flu, sepsis, cystitis or pneumonia can be fatal not only for people who cannot afford modern treatment, but also for those who can afford the most expensive drugs.
Some sexually transmitted infections have not only developed antibiotic resistance but are gaining traction in some regions. Syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and other infections can now do as much harm as they did a hundred years ago.
The invention of new antibiotics
It would seem, taking into account the development of modern medicine, it would be possible to create a new line of modern antibiotics that can overcome even evolved strains of bacteria. However, not all so simple. New antibiotics have ceased to appear since the end of the 20th century. This is because the pharmaceutical industry long ago moved to the capitalist model, in which profits outweigh the weight of people's health. Markets for cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are more lucrative industries.
A course of antibiotic treatment is much cheaper than a course of chemotherapy, HIV treatment, or heart failure. People with high cholesterol or type 2 diabetes will need medication consistently for several decades. It is not surprising that all modern antibiotics are some kind of transformations of those drugs that were created even before 1984.
What to do?
The first thing to do in this situation is to stop taking antibiotics on business and without. Some infections may well be managed without antibiotic intervention. We are too dependent on modern drugs, it's time to face the problem and learn how to take action.
Doctors need to differentiate between infections that can be treated without antibiotics, such as some ear infections. In addition, you should not insist on ending the course of treatment, even after the symptoms of the disease have passed.
It's not just about the prescriptions prescribed by doctors. The patients themselves must understand that not every sneeze and cough needs to be treated with antibiotics - they are far from a panacea and far from all diseases. The fact is that most of the diseases of the upper respiratory tract are caused by viruses, and antibiotics only kill bacteria.
Livestock
Even if you have never taken antibiotics during your treatment, there is a high chance that your body is still familiar with them.
The fact is that antibiotics are actively used in animal husbandry and poultry farming. To avoid epidemics, both corporations and farmers regularly feed or inject animals with antibiotics for prevention. This is so common and widespread that meat and other animal foods are high in antibiotics.
The World Health Organization has called on the agricultural sector to reduce antibiotic use and to focus on finding alternative methods of protecting animals and birds from infection, such as immunization and improved hygiene. As in the case of humans, animals should receive antibiotics only in case of bacteriological infection, otherwise they may become victims of resistant strains.
Medication solutions
A more radical solution is the use of bacteriophages - viruses that infect bacteria. The name of these viruses is literally translated from Greek as "eater of bacteria". This nickname is not entirely true. The virus lives in bacterial cells, multiplies, jumping from cell to cell, and causes their gradual dissolution.
Bacteriophages were discovered in 1915 and were used to treat gangrene during World War II. Today, scientists pin their hopes on them in the fight against almost invincible strains of mutated bacteria.
Hope Chikanchi