Antibiotic Resistant SuperBugs

6142509695_0e54e70812_b

Concerning overuses of antibiotics is leading to a rise in resistant “superbugs.”  Will doctors eventually run out of antibiotics to prescribe due to drug-resistant bacteria?  The fact is superbugs are something we need to keep our eye on.  Many are trying to find a fix, and a smart way to protect antibiotics.  Also, how are antibiotic resistant bugs affecting people?

Superbugs may be very hard to see without a microscope; however their effect isn’t hard to spot.  For starters a “superbug” is a strain of bacteria that becomes resistant to antibiotic drugs over time.  They can grow simply by you taking the same antibiotic for a long period of time.  Eventually the bacteria trying to be cured have become resistant toward the antibiotic so it no longer gets affected.

The antibiotics we know of today are not totally at loss, and will never work again; however it is very important scientist find a fix.  Currently hospitals have been asked to use a seven-step checklist to better protect the antibiotics people use.  This checklist has things like tracking current prescription practices, reporting patterns of drug-resistant bacteria and educating staff about more effective use of antibiotics.  State and local health-departments have also been asked to work with hospitals to track things like drug-resistant bacteria’s, and patients who may be carriers of the bacteria.  Lots have started ordering tests before beginning to treat a patient and have started to keep careful note throughout the course of the treatment.

Although multiple procedures are being taken to protect antibiotics and patients, not all are so lucky.  A recent report suggests over 2 million people in the U.S. are affected by bacteria that is resistant to a wide collection of the safest and most effective antibiotics.  Of those, at least 23,000 die.  This crisis is escalating due to the world consuming too many antibiotics.  I know of someone who is having to deal with antibiotic resistance.  It is my Mom actually.  She has to switch up the antibiotic she is taking every month or so to avoid the presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria.  My Mom has been having to do this for quite some time.  Therefore some are worried we will eventually live in a world where we would be no longer able to use antibiotics.

Antibiotics are used everywhere, such as medical use and agricultural use.  It is very possible antibiotics will not be the future, and many are saying it may take a very hard toll on many people before we see a change in the use of antibiotics.  Antibiotic resistant bacteria is more common than we think.  I’ve seen it happen with my Mom and other family members. In my eyes a fix to the problem is important.

  • Predict some solutions to antibiotic resistant bugs.
  • Do you know anyone who has to change antibiotics often in cause of superbugs?
  • What are the possibilities of developing superbugs inside of you?

 

2 thoughts on “Antibiotic Resistant SuperBugs

  1. I personally think that this is a very interesting topic. Nowadays, people are getting more and more aware of the presence of super bugs. Super bugs are indeed very dangerous and even the CDC has categorized them based on the threats they pose. There is even one group of bacteria called carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) that the CDC claims as resistant to all or almost all antibiotics available on Earth today. I was surprised by the statistics the CDC has posted on their websites as super bugs have killed thousands of people and cost millions of dollars to be controlled. There are a lot of things we can do to help controlling super bugs but since we cannot see these evil microorganisms and they can easily evolve, the chance of developing new super bugs is still relatively big.

    http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/

    Above is the CDC website I used as my source. It contains a lot of links to various information that are important to know or you might be interested in. I hope this helps.

  2. I found this to be a very strong article, and truly enjoyed it. It’s interesting how useless antibiotics will be soon, it’s a waste too, something so effective, that has no effectiveness anymore. I also found it fascinating on how this problem had affected people you actually know, and could tell about it. I believe a solution to the problem could be to work on getting people to be less dependent on the antibiotics, as to still have a working resource in the case of a bad situation that might arise. I believe pharmacists would have to worry about changing the existing antibiotics to be effective. And a super bug could be inside me right now for all I know, working it’s way inside of me, only to one day sprout out and cause havoc. Thanks again for this interesting read, and fun food for thought, I hope you get a good grade.

    Source- http://www.outpatientsurgery.net/surgical-facility-administration/infection-control/battling-superbugs-with-the-basics–07-12

    Video Source- https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CD8QtwIwAg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DwGlBwW7f5HA&ei=InFUU83rBeSkyAG6uIDwAQ&usg=AFQjCNFVN5BF_lLaox6L8DRM3UnjFNoIAw&sig2=bpcWFT-day1NHWyamyeQ_g

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *