Antibiotic resistance is a serious problem, and this method promises to save us from it.

antibiotic resistance It is a major public health problem, with an estimated 5 million deaths worldwide each year. Infections that were until recently easily treatable are becoming deadly as the drugs used to fight them bacteria They don’t work anymore. And the worst thing is that the same thing happens with other pathogens, for example fungi or protozoa. Everyone finds a way to avoid treatment. It is clear that measures must be taken to make the situation worse, but what are these actions?

We are tired of hearing typical methods avoid antibiotic resistance. First of all, it is recommended not to use them without a doctor’s prescription and pay attention to the dosage time. No more, no less. However, as recently explained in an article for Nature expert Ramanan Lakshminarayanwe do not pay attention to other equally necessary measures.

For example, according to this scientist, the vast majority of deaths from antibiotic-resistant infections occur in countries with few economic resources. This is because the drugs used in these regions are of lower quality. Therefore, they do not completely combat the bacteria and do not give them the opportunity to become resistant. This problem can be easily solved by directing more economic resources to these countries. This would be a necessary measure to combat superbugs, but no one seems to take it into account.

What causes antibiotic resistance?

Since Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, many different antibiotics have been developed. Some of them target different bacteria or have different mechanisms of action. That is, they attack pathogens from different angles to ensure their destruction.

Unfortunately, bacteria can find a way avoid these antibiotics through mutations. These are modifications to their genetic material that occur when they reproduce. These mutations may be lethal to the bacteria, may have no effect, positive or negative, or may be beneficial to them. For example, it may enable them to resist the mechanism of action of an antibiotic.

Let’s now imagine that a person takes amoxicillin constantly, every time he feels bad. When you have the flu, when you sneeze because of allergies… In these cases, antibiotics are not needed, because these are not bacterial infections. But this person consumes them.

Just because you don’t have a bacterial infection doesn’t mean you don’t have bacteria in your body. Let’s not forget that we are colonized millions of bacteriaMany of them are good for us, and others are harmless or opportunistic, waiting for our defenses to drop so they can harm us. An unnecessary antibiotic will attack all of these bacteria. If there are a few bacteria that have mutated and are resistant to amoxicillin, they will survive, and as a result, a much larger proportion of the bacteria in that person’s body will be resistant.

The Role of Gene Sharing in Antibiotic Resistance

On the other hand, bacteria have the ability exchange genes with each other. These amoxicillin-resistant bacteria can pass on the resistance gene to some non-resistant bacteria that survive the initial attack.

If this happens over and over again, there will come a point where most of the bacteria in your body will be resistant to amoxicillin. If you get an infection where it really matters, it will no longer work. Hopefully, you can use another antibiotic with a different mechanism of action. The problem is that bacteria accumulate resistance genes, and some of them may be able to resist many antibiotics. Or even all of them. That’s when antibiotic resistance becomes deadly.

What does the price of antibiotics have to do with it?

If we take an insufficient dose of antibiotics and do not eliminate the infection completely, we give the bacteria the opportunity to acquire the ability to defend themselves against a new encounter. Therefore, it is recommended to always follow leaflets and recommendations from our doctor.

The same thing happens when we drink alcohol while taking antibiotics. The mixture itself is not dangerous, but it can reduce the effectiveness of the antibiotic, leading to antibiotic resistance. And with antibiotics cheap or poor quality exactly the same thing happens. And all this without taking into account the fact that in many underdeveloped countries, drugs entering pharmacies do not undergo any control, and therefore are often counterfeit.

For this reason, Lakshminarayan recommends investing more money in getting drugs to these countries, and subjecting drug supplies to greater scrutiny. He estimates that modest global investment will suffice. several hundred million dollars Americans: This figure may seem large, but for the great powers it will not be an unreasonable investment.

Resistant bacteria that arise in these countries can spread to the rest of the world, creating a problem for everyone. Sometimes it’s hard to look beyond the belly button, but in this case, our belly button is directly involved. It’s worth looking in that direction, too.