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Writing 2010

Elisabeth Morrill

Brenda McKenna

Writing 2010

5 March 2017

What Factors Contribute to Antibiotic Resistance and

What are Some Possible Solutions?

Bacteria, just like every other living thing, evolve in order to survive. Antibiotic

resistance is when bacteria evolve to become resistant to antibiotics. This is a major public health

problem. When antibiotics were first created in the early 20th century, they helped save thousands

and thousands of lives, they still do today. But because of antibiotic resistance, there are multiple

antibiotics that are no longer effective. This leaves hundreds of people asking for help, hopeless

because there are no antibiotics that can treat them because the bacteria present in their bodies

are resistant to all possible antibiotics. So the question is how can this problem be solved? Well

there is no one solution that will completely get rid of antibiotic resistance, antibiotic resistance

will always be present because bacteria will always evolve in order to survive but it is important

to learn what things make it worse like the overuse and misuse of antibiotics and how to avoid

those things. It is also very important to create new antibiotics to replace those that are no longer

effective.

A major factor contributing to antibiotic resistance is the overuse of antibiotics; this is

shown in the article, Stop the Killing of Beneficial Bacteria by Martin Blaser. An average

American baby born in 1940 was expected to live to the age of 63 and today a baby born is

expected to live to 78, an important reason for this is antibiotics. The average American child

receives about 10-20 courses of antibiotics the first 18 years of life, antibiotics are life-saving in
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many respects (Blaser 393). The problem with this is that people have grown so dependent on

antibiotics that they are often overused. This leads to the killing of good bacteria that should

remain in the body (Blaser 393). Although the discovery of antibiotics has been life-saving,

antibiotics are used too often today and possibly lead to long-term health problems. Blaser then

goes on to talk about some of the resulting health problems. Labs have found that this killing of

beneficial bacteria may make it easier for humans to contract infections and diseases. Some of

these include asthma, allergies, obesity, type 1 diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease (Blaser

393). Some common health problems could be the result of the overuse of antibiotics and just

using antibiotics less could lower the occurrences of these health issues. This is important for

people, especially doctors prescribing these antibiotics, to know because just by prescribing

antibiotics correctly could help slow the resistance.

Antibiotics are also overused in agriculture; especially with livestock an article by

George Khachatourians explains this. Most antibiotics used in livestock are used as growth

promoters and to prevent infection, not to treat infection. The recommended amount of

antibiotics used in livestock feed used to be 5-10ppm in the mid 1900s but today those levels

have been increased 10-20 times (Khachatourians 1130). This is an extreme amount of

antibiotics especially considering the huge amount of livestock around the world. Khachatourian

then explains how the resistance caused by this overuse spreads through the human population.

When antibiotics are overused in agriculture the antibiotic-resistant bacteria is transferred to the

human population which spreads the resistance throughout the population (Khachatourians

1130). The more antibiotics are overused, the more resistance spreads through the human

population and antibiotics are no longer effective. It is very important for people to know this so
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that they can come up with other ways of taking care of livestock without contributing to the

problem of resistance.

Along with overuse, antibiotics are also being used incorrectly. In an interview with

Scientific American Nobel Prize-winning chemist, Venki Ramakrishnam, talks about the

incorrect use of antibiotics and some possible solutions. Many people will go to a doctor and

demand an antibiotic when they have a cold or a flu, for which these antibacterial compounds are

useless (Ramakrishnam). When antibiotics are used for something that isnt treated by

antibiotics, any bacteria present will be exposed to the antibiotics and develop and spread

resistance faster. Ramakrishnam also talks about some possible ways to slow resistance. Better

ways of diagnosing bacteria should be created so that the bacteria present can be quickly

diagnosed and treated with a specific spectrum of antibiotics. There also needs to be better public

hygiene because there are people traveling all over the world and if resistance develops in one

place it can easily spread all over (Ramakrishnam). Antibiotic resistance is not an impossible

problem to solve, if people are more careful resistance can be slowed down. Ramakrishnam talks

about some alternatives to antibiotics, he says, Antibiotics should be used as a last resort. Apart

from general preventive measures like public health and hygiene, vaccines can be of enormous

benefit (Ramakrishnam). Antibiotics today are not being used as a last resort, to slow resistance;

people could start using other methods like good hygiene and vaccines to prevent bacterial

infections in the first place. This is important for doctors to know so that they refrain from

prescribing antibiotics when they are not needed, doctors should also be telling their patients to

maintain good hygiene and that might help prevent the spread of bacterial infections.

There are many possible solutions to the problem of antibiotic resistance. In the article,

Stop the Killing of Beneficial Bacteria, Martin Blaser says that many antibiotics, mostly
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penicillins, are given to women during pregnancy. The use of these antibiotics should be reduced

so the babies dont begin life on a lot of antibiotics that may be causing health problems later on

because they kill the good bacteria in the body (Blaser 394). Instead of giving antibiotics to all

mothers, they should be assessed to see if they actually need antibiotics to treat infections or if

vaccines might be the best option (Blaser 394). There are antibiotics being used all the time and

just assessing these uses to see if antibiotics are not actually needed could help slow the

resistance. This is important because doctors should only give antibiotics if they are only really

needed, antibiotics should not be given as a just in case.

According to the article, Antibiotics Resistance, by Pushpa Larsen, the solutions to

antibiotic resistance are simple. Wash hands as much as possible and use friction to loosen the

bacteria. Antibiotics should only be used if the patient for sure has a bacterial infection (Larsen).

The entire prescription of antibiotics should be used exactly as prescribed. Eating healthy foods

helps prevent illness and it is important to go to a doctor who knows how to correctly diagnose

bacterial infections (Larsen). It is simple to stay away from bacterial infections just by staying

clean and making healthy choices. Larsen also goes over some things to avoid in order to remain

healthy. Take antibiotics only for bacterial infections; dont take antibiotics for a cold or flu

because antibiotics dont kill viruses. Take prescribed medication for as long as it is prescribed

(Larsen). Take only the antibiotics prescribed, not anyone elses. Dont use antibacterial soap,

regular soap works well enough (Larsen). Just by following doctors orders and maintaining

good hygiene, people can possibly avoid bacterial infections. This is important for doctors to tell

their patients so that the patients know that antibiotics are not always needed and that there are

easy ways of staying healthy and not needing antibiotics.

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Although antibiotic resistance will always be a problem, it is still very important to

develop new antibiotics. According to the article Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria and its

Future for Novel Antibiotic Development, due to the inevitability of resistance, antibiotics will

always need to be developed. There is a pressing need for new antibiotics due to the inevitable

development of resistance that follows the introduction of antibiotics to the clinic (Yoneyama,

Katsumata 1067). This is important to note because even though resistance will always happen,

creating new antibiotics is needed to replace, even temporarily, those antibiotics that bacteria

have already become resistant to. There are different ways to develop new antibiotics keeping in

mind antibiotic resistance, The main strategy of the pharmaceutical industry for development of

new therapeutics has been modification of existing antibiotics (Yoneyama, Katsumata 1067). It

is important to always keep antibiotic resistance in mind and look at the antibiotics that bacteria

have become resistant to and use some aspects of those antibiotics that were once very effective.

This is very important for the pharmaceutical industry because developing new antibiotics is

necessary and it is a major task for those in pharmacy.

Antibiotics are used all the time in everyday life but that overuse might lead to health

problems later on in life like diabetes and obesity. There are simple ways to stay away from

bacterial infections though and remain healthy without using antibiotics like washing hands and

making smart health choices. The overuse, misuse, and use in livestock of antibiotics are leading

to quicker antibiotic resistance. Ways to solve this issue are to refrain from using antibiotics for

viruses and to use them less in daily life, antibiotics should also only be used if a patient for sure

has a bacterial infection, they should not be used as a just in case. It is also very important for

new antibiotics to be developed because they are always needed, developers can even use aspects

of some antibiotics that used to be effective but no longer are.

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Works Cited

Blaser, Martin. Stop the Killing of Beneficial Bacteria. Nature 476 (2011): 393. Print.

Khachatourians, George. Agricultural use of Antibiotics and the Evolution and Transfer

of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. Canadian Medical Association 159 (1998): 1130. Print.

Larsen, Pushpa. "Antibiotics Resistance." Antibiotics Resistance Cause and Solution | Natural

Health. Web. 01 Mar. 2017.

Ramakrishnam, Venki. Interview. Scientific American Jan. 2015: Print.

Yoneyama, Hiroshi, Ryoichi Katsumata. Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria and Its Future for

Novel Antibiotic Development. Bioschi. Biotechnol. Biochem 70.5 (2006): 1067. Print.
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Audience Page

I am writing to an audience of people interested in pharmaceutical research and

development, doctors prescribing antibiotics, and people interested in funding research. Those

interested in pharmaceutical research and development are probably wanting to someday create

new antibiotics. When they research antibiotics they learn about antibiotic resistance so this

paper would be helpful for those who are more interested in antibiotic resistance and someday

developing new antibiotics.

Doctors might be interested in this paper because if they are prescribing antibiotics they

should know what can happen if they prescribe them incorrectly. They need to know about

antibiotic resistance so that they always have a backup plan in case some antibiotics they use

dont work on the patient because their bacteria are resistant to the antibiotics.

Those interested in funding research are probably looking at some major health problems

facing the world today and will find out about antibiotic resistance. This paper would be helpful

for them because they will find out what a big problem antibiotic resistance actually is and this

paper could help them learn about some possible solutions to the problem that they could fund

research to.

I also want to write to the general public just to warn them of antibiotic resistance and

what that might mean to them and let them know some of the things they can do to help prevent

the spread of it.