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Currently, the main threat to human health is the coronavirus. All the efforts of the scientific community are focused on finding a vaccine against Covid-19, but experts warn of a greater threat.
It is about the growing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. This represents a greater threat than Covid-19. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), three million Americans contract a bacterial infection resistant to antibiotics each year. Of these, about 35,000 die from it. Global data indicate 700,000 deaths a year and, according to WHO, at this rate, by 2050, some 10 million people will die from antibiotic-resistant infections.
The reason lies in the “overprescription” of antibiotics, but also in their use in animals. Diseases such as gonorrhea, tuberculosis or salmonella are becoming increasingly difficult to treat. A small part of the bacteria that survive these antibiotics evolve and reproduce creating resistance. An estimated 230,000 people die each year worldwide from antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis, writes 20min.es.
According to Sarah Fortune, professor of immunology and infectious diseases at Harvard University, says: “Bacterial infections are increasingly likely to be very difficult to treat, even untreatable. And untreatable infections are bad. They do a lot of damage, even death.”. Another expert, Steffanie Strathdee, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, believes that “it is already a pandemic. It is already a global crisis and it is getting worse with Covid-19.”
Antibiotic resistance, a major public health problem
Romania remains at the top of the European Union in terms of total antibiotic consumption and consumption of antibiotics without a prescription, says the Romanian Society for Microbiology.
Overuse of antibiotics.
Cold and flu are two examples of infections that antibiotics do not help us overcome. These two diseases are caused by viruses, not bacteria, and antibiotics do not destroy viruses. You’ll feel much better if you drink more fluids, get enough rest, and use symptoms that eliminate symptoms.
Unfortunately, in many cases antibiotics are given for these diseases, which:
It will not help us heal faster, it could make us feel maybe even worse if the aforementioned side effects occur: post-biotic diarrhea, yeast infection, etc.
In addition, we can select the appearance of resistant bacteria in our own body, such as Escherichia coli, which can later cause a urinary tract infection that is more difficult to treat.
Antibiotic treatment is not necessary in any infection, experts warn.
Doctors note that not all infections are treated with antibiotics. For example, most respiratory infections are caused by viruses against which antibiotics are not effective. In such cases, the use of antibiotics does not improve health and does not reduce the duration of the disease.
To limit the increase in resistance to antibiotics, the World Health Organization recommends:
• Use of antibiotics only on the recommendation of the doctor;
• Following the mode of administration prescribed by the doctor;
• Do not use antibiotics that have not been consumed;
• Do not give antibiotics to anyone else;
• Prevention of possible bacterial infections, by washing hands, preparing food in hygienic conditions, vaccination and avoiding contact with infected people.
These are the only weapons in the fight against antibiotic resistance.
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