Some nights I lay awake thinking about the future—thinking about the cities that haven’t been built, the planets that haven’t been found, and the people that I will never get to meet. I am scared for those people.
In 1928, Alexander Fleming, a Scottish biologist, pharmacologist, and botanist, discovered the first natural antibiotic: Penicillin. All of you reading this have at some point in time made use of his discovery. Penicillin antibiotics were among the first drugs to be effective against many previously serious diseases, such as syphilis and infections caused by staphylococci and streptococci. Antibiotics in general remain one of the cornerstones of modern health care, acting as something we all hope to rely on when we get sick. We could very easily name the 20th century “the age of the antibiotic,” and it would be well deserved, indeed. But time is running out.
In its first global report of antimicrobial resistance, released Wednesday, the WHO says “a post-antibiotic era – in which common infections and minor injuries can kill – is a very real possibility for the 21st century…this serious threat is no longer a prediction for the future, it is happening right no in every region of the world and has the potential to affect anyone, of any age, in any country. Antibiotic resistance…is not a major threat to public health.”
Estimates in the U.S. suggest 2 million people get antibiotic-resistance infections each year, and at least 23,000 die because current drugs no longer stop their infections. The WHO cannot provide global statistics, because many countries have no estimates at all.
“But how did it come to this?” you’re probably asking yourself. Humans may have been studying antibiotics, but so were bacteria – and they’ve b...
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...—all of it.
For the health care force: prescribe the right antibiotic to treat the illness. Only prescribe and dispense antibiotics when they are truly needed. Do what is in your power to enhance infection prevention and control.
For the policymakers: foster innovation and research and development of new tools. Promote cooperation and information sharing among stakeholders. This is an issue that affects everyone on the globe in the same way, no matter the size of your wallet.
If this becomes as serious of a problem as it has the potential to become, then our lives will fundamentally change. Not only will the landscape of public health policy change, but the idea of safety and security in our health and lives will be forever warped. We must work together to solve this problem—and if not for ourselves, then for those people that I spend my nights dreaming about.
Penicillin, derived from the mold Penicillium, is the first antibiotic to successfully treat bacterial infections on humans. It was accidentally discovered by scientist, Alexander Fleming. While Fleming was growing Staphylococcus, a serious and often deadly infection, in a dish, he noticed the bacteria had stopped growing after a mold found its way
Resistance arises from mutations that are not under the control of humans, but the evolution of bacteria has been sped along by the overexposure of antibiotics to both people and animals. The number of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria in an area is closely related to the frequency that antibiotics that are prescribed (Todar, 2012). Patients often unnecessarily demand antibiotics to treat common colds or simple illnesses that are not caused by bacteria. Instead, these infections are caused by viruses which, unlike bacteria, are unaffected by antibiotics. Incorrect diagnosis can also lead patients to using unnecessary antibiotics, which can sometimes be even more dangerous than otherwise left untreated. Besides the fact that antibiotics kill off beneficial bacteria in the intestines, misuse of antibiotics provides an opportunity ...
Nurses should take a leading role in reducing the impact of disease on patients and influence the expansion of evidence based infection prevention practice. Antimicrobial resistance prevention must remain a huge priority. In times of opposing priorities concerning patient safety, progress has been made in undertaking these bacteria’s and infections. The outlook of a near future without helpful antibiotics should not be dismissed, and all us in positions of influence should encourage and educate the conscientious use of antimicrobials seriously and do what we can to stop the situation from spreading.
Carroll. Even with widespread controversy over antibiotic resistance, Carroll remained neutral with his writing, pointing out facts that fit both sides of the argument. One of the most important issues addressed in the article was the lack of education when it comes to the proper use of antibiotics. The health of the public would benefit greatly from education about viruses and bacterial infections. Carroll’s article is a good resource for the basis of the topic’s education. The article informs readers about the importance of antibiotics and the development of antibiotic resistance as well as future prevention and research for antibiotic
Bacteria are living organisms, and as such they have the ability to evolve by mutation and natural selection. This is the process by which random genetic mutations create individuals better suited to their environment, which then live to reproduce. The progeny of this individual will then have this mutation, and so a species evolves. One of the largest problems facing the medical profession today is that harmful, that ...
Penicillin, the first antibiotic, was discovered accidentally by Sir Alexander Fleming in 1928. Sir Fleming was growing bacteria on agar plates and accidentally left one of the plates open. A mould started growing on this. Fleming noticed that no bacteria grew
Penicillin is a form of anti-biotic. The first antibiotic was discovered by Paul Vuillemin, who studied the effects of Antibiosis or the process in which an organism takes another’s life in order to maintain its own life (Porter 455). Penicillin is one of the most well known and most used antibiotics on the market today. It refers to a mold that does not allow the bacteria surrounding it to reproduce, effectively destroying it (Hamblin 240). After its initial discovery, Penicillin was purified and manipulated into a form that could be used to cure bacterial infections (Aldridge, Parascandola,and Sturchio 4). Penicillin is one of the greatest medical discoveries during the twentieth century, but it wasn’t ready to use the day after it was discovered, in fact, it took years before clinical use and before it was successfully mass produced.
Doctors are trying to figure out how to kill these harmful bacteria’s. But it is getting harder to discover other antibiotics. APA CITATION :- History of Antibiotics - The Discovery by Alexander Fleming. n.d. - n.d. - n.d. Retrieved November 04, 2017, from https://explorable.com/history-of-antibiotics.
Bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics is a major problem not only for the United States, but worldwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012) the cause is related to “widespread overuse, as well as inappropriate use, of antibiotics that is fueling antibiotic resistance”. According to World Health Organization (2013) resistance is a global concern for several reasons; it impedes the control of infectious diseases, increases healthcare costs, and the death rate for patients with resistant bacterial infections is twice of those with non-resistant bacterial infections.
For many years we have become increasingly dependant on antibiotics to fight off the bacteria that cause diseases in our bodies. Many of the diseases these bacteria and microbes cause are infectious. For these reasons, it has been noticed that bacteria and other microbes are becoming increasingly resistant to the antibiotics prescribed to sick people. Many doctors prescribe antibiotics for common illnesses, yet other medicines such as home remedies and homeopathy could be used instead. As a result, we are using antibiotics too often, as many sources claim we should only be using them once every three years.”Bacteria have shown a remarkable ability to endure and adapt to their environment including the development of different mechanisms of resistance to most old and new antimicrobial agents”. Because of the frequent prescription, the bacteria and microbes that cause these illnesses are exposed to the same type of antibiotics frequently, thus they are able to adapt and build up resilience against these antibiotics. “Bacteria have developed resistance to all different classes of antibiotics discovered to date” . This is a major problem as we rely so heavily on antibiotics to treat serious illnesses that we are running out of options to treat them with. The prescribing of antibiotics for illnesses that are not life-threatening are now resulting in fewer solutions to cure people affected by diseases that can be fatal.
Alexander Fleming started the history of antibiotics in the 1920's with his discovery of penicillin.When penicillin was first discovered and used widely, it was touted as a wonder drug, and consequently was used as one.Though not necessarily harmful to the patient penicillin was used for much more infections than it was able to combat.Today the same practice is observed in the medical profession, however at this point it is due more to the detriment of an uneducated public.Studies have been carried out that show the huge over usage of antibiotics.In the seventies Soyka et al, concluded, "60% of physicians surveyed gave antibiotics for the treatment of the common cold."[3], and by common knowledge the common cold is a virus, something that cannot be treated by an antibiotic.Nyquist
Every year, antibiotic-resistant bacteria are threatening more and more people. As much of a problem as it is, many people are not educated on the term drug resistance. Since it is such a growing concern, it becomes confusing as to why drug resistance is occurring and what can be done to prevent it. Because drug resistance is such a health problem, determining what it is, how these bacteria can acquire the antimicrobial agents, and the possible solutions to the resistance are the types of actions that need to be taken in order to have a better understanding of how truly powerful these drug resistant bacteria are.
When antibiotics first began to see widespread American usage in the 1940’s, they were heralded as a miracle drug, a description that was not far from the mark considering the great number of debilitating or fatal illnesses that they could rapidly cure. In a time where bacterial diseases that today carry few serious health risks in healthy adults—such as strep throat, ear infections, syphilis, and wound infections—often lead to serious debilitation or death, the invention of antibiotics was among the greatest single improvements in public health ever made. And today, more than three quarters of a century after Alexander Fleming discovered the antimicrobial properties of penicillin, antibiotics are as important as ever in maintaining a healthy population, from their ability to treat common infections to the safeguards they provide patients undergoing surgeries and other infection-prone procedures that could otherwise be too risky to perform. However, today many doctors and researchers are beginning to fear that this golden era of antibiotics may be coming to an end due to the ever-increasing threat of antibiotic resistance. There are a number of practices that contribute to increased antibiotic resistance, including the unnecessary prescription, improper dosage, and incorrect usage of antibiotic drugs by humans.
Can one imagine the world without antibiotics? It is probably a matter of concern on how we can utilize them to give optimal results and achieve its functionality. With the advent generation, the antibiotics face a huge setback. The resistance of antibiotics is not a fact that comes out of manufacture but rather how we use them. The issue of misuse needs more attention than any other moment in the history. People become more ignorant on the facts of antibiotic usage as the time progresses. The emanating treat of going back to the antibacterial era will come to reality if the trend continues.
The discovery of antibiotics is attributed to Alexander Fleming who discovered the first antibiotic to be commercially used (Penicillin) in approximately 1928. An antibiotic, also known as an antimicrobial, is a medication that is taken in order to either destroy or slow the growth rate of bacteria. Antibiotics are integral to the success of many medical practises, such as; surgical procedures, organ transplants, the treatment of cancer and the treatment of the critically ill. (Ramanan Laxminarayan, 2013)