AN article in a local daily reported that the WHO said the failure of antibiotics to work effectively was a crisis bigger and more urgent than the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. UK experts said the “era of safe medicine is coming to an end” and government funds must be pumped into the production of new drugs. Dr Keiji Fukuda, WHO’s Assistant Director-General for Health Security, said: “Without urgent, coordinated action the world is headed for a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades can once again kill.”
The report, Antimicrobial resistance: global report on surveillance, focuses on antibiotic resistance in seven different bacteria responsible for common, serious diseases such as sepsis, diarrhoea, pneumonia, urinary tract infections and gonorrhoea. It found that antibiotic resistance is present in all areas of the globe and is growing, as per the news report.
Paleontological data show that both antibiotics and antibiotic resistance are ancient compounds and mechanisms – so this is nothing new. Useful antibiotic targets are those for which mutations negatively impact bacterial reproduction or viability. Inappropriate antibiotic treatment and overuse of antibiotics have contributed to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Self prescription of antibiotics is an example of misuse. Many antibiotics are frequently prescribed to treat symptoms or diseases that do not respond to antibiotics or that are likely to resolve without treatment. Also incorrect or sub-optimal antibiotics are prescribed for certain bacterial infections. The overuse of antibiotics, like penicillin and Azithromycin, have been associated with emerging antibiotic resistance since the 1950s. Widespread usage of antibiotics in hospitals has also been associated with increases in bacterial strains and species that no longer respond to treatment with the most common antibiotics.
In a policy report released by the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) on April 2013, IDSA expressed grave concern over the weak pipeline of antibiotics to combat the growing ability of bacteria, especially the Gram-negative bacilli (GNB), to develop resistance to antibiotics. Since 2009, only 2 new antibiotics were approved in United States, and the number of new antibiotics annually approved for marketing continues to decline. The report could identify only seven antibiotics currently in phase 2 or phase 3 clinical trials to treat the GNB.
The increase in bacterial strains that are resistant to conventional antibacterial therapies has prompted the development of bacterial disease treatment strategies that are alternatives to conventional antibacterials. One strategy to address bacterial drug resistance is the discovery and application of compounds that modify resistance to common antibacterials. For example, some resistance-modifying agents may inhibit multidrug resistance mechanisms, such as drug efflux from the cell, thus increasing the susceptibility of bacteria to an antibacterial. Metabolic stimuli such as sugar can help eradicate a certain type of antibiotic-tolerant bacteria by keeping their metabolism activity. Vaccines are another way by which bacteria could be fought and rely on immune modulation or augmentation.. Antibacterial vaccines have been responsible for a drastic reduction in global bacterial diseases. Since human behaviour cannot be changed – searching for different ways to kill bacteria remain the only option.
