Antibiotics: a bane or a boon?

Jan 29 2008

Whenever we catch any infection, we think of nothing but antibiotic dosages that will make us disease-free and healthy again. Physicians all over the world consider antibiotics as the amazing weapons to fight against deadly diseases. However, there is a growing concern over the fact that the many antibiotics that were giving good results previously are no longer helpful in combating the infectious diseases. This antibiotic resistance has raised alarm bells in the vast scientific world and the researchers are trying to find various causes of it and solutions for it.

Some antibiotics are found to have innate ability of resistance. That is, penicillin is not effective against fungi, viruses and bacteria without cell wall. This is because it has an innate ability to interfere only with bacterial cell wall. Also chromosomal mutations, plasmid acquisition etc are responsible for resistance of many strains. There are yet many mechanisms of resistance that have been postulated. This study together with many research programs is very much necessary in order to find a solution to this resistance of antibiotics. Otherwise, day by day it will be difficult to deal with infectious diseases that still are rising in alarming quantity in developing world.
Also, the medical, agricultural and food industries are affected due to this antibiotic resistance. Unnecessarily the livestock is fed enormous antibiotics in order to prevent diseases in them. This culminates in a menace called hamburger meat that is dangerous to consume because of heavy amounts of drug resistant bacteria. Also, because of over the counter prescriptions, heavy antibiotic usage has resulted in super resistant bacterial strains. Because of repeated consumption of antibiotics, they start fading in their effects, thus resulting in resistant action when body actually needs them. Also, black market cheap antibiotics have increased the risk. In short, resistance and public health is an important sector we have to work upon. Unless we educate ourselves on careful usage of antibiotics, we may have to repent later because of non-availability of proper treatment for our ailments in coming years!