Antibacterial Misuse

Antibacterial misuse refers to the improper and extensive use of antibacterial agents which can lead further to the bacterial resistance. Antibiotics are the medicines that eliminate bacterial infections by either killing the bacteria or inhibiting its reproduction. They work by different mechanisms such as interfering with synthesis of bacterial cell wall-a structure not possessed by mammalian cells (e.g. penicillin), by targeting bacterial ribosomes and inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis (e.g. tetracycline) or by interrupting the replication of genetic material (e.g. fluoroquinolones). Selection of antibiotics is a very crucial step which requires proper knowledge of the identity of the organism, site of infection, patient factor, safety or cost of drug.

Bacteria are considered resistant to antibiotic if the maximal dose of antibiotic that can be tolerated by the host does not cease bacterial growth. Bacteria develops more resistant strains with enhanced protective mechanisms or modified target sites in response to antibiotics.Antibiotic resistance is accelerated by the indiscriminate and overuse of antibiotics. Number of infections such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, gonorrhea etc are becoming difficult to treat as the antibiotics used to treat became less effective. Antibiotic resistance is one of the major threats to global health declared by World Health Organization. It occurs naturally overtime through genetic variations and spread easily from person to person, food from animals or contaminated water. Antibiotic resistance is most prevalent in India, China, Russia, Brazil and some countries of United States. It is responsible for approximately 700,000 deaths per year worldwide.

Many physicians (mostly in developing countries) recommend antibiotics without identifying the true nature of pathogen causing infection due to limited resources. In several cases, antibiotics are administered in viral infections e.g. flu, common cold, whooping cough etc. Taking them won’t treat infection and promote antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Moreover there is a huge pressure on health workers from patients to provide antibiotics without any prescription or diagnostic tests. Repeated administration of antibiotic kills both harmful and beneficial microorganisms in our body totally disrupting the natural flora of our gut and other parts of body leading to many metabolic disorders, digestive problems and decrease immunity in our body. The bacteria becomes more resistant and develops advanced protective mechanisms to fight with antibiotics. For example Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a pathogen that causes tuberculosis is now resisant to multiple antibiotics such as Rifampin or Isoniazid. Staphylococcus, which is responsible for several skin infections, food poisoning, pneumonia etc is now resistant to many antibiotics including methicillin and other penicillin like drugs.

Antibiotic resistance is a growing concern in healthcare which requires multisectoral cooperation to launch different programs, research centers and medical campaigns to reduce it. Measures should be taken to implement preventive measures (hygiene, vaccines or environmental factors) and guidelines to attain better public health outcomes. People should be encouraged to treat common infections naturally without taking any antibacterial drugs. Patients should complete their entire course of antibiotic administration prescribed by physician. Educate health care professionals and public about the importance of appropriate antibiotics use and side effects of utilization of drugs without any medical prescription. Research centers should be facilitated with modern technologies to ensure the creation of new antibiotics and availability of effective treatments for bacterial infections.

World Antibiotic Awareness Weak (WAWW) is a global campaign celebrated from 18 to 24 November to raise awareness against the irrational use of antibiotics and spread of drug resistant pathogens. Moreover WHO has also launched the Global Antimicrobial Resistance And Use Surveillance System (GLASS) in 2015 to collect authentic data of the use of antibiotic agents or supervision of antimicrobial resistance in humans from different countries and territories. Moreover many global antibiotic research centers have been launched to devise new treatments for drug resistant infections.