I am going to begin my paper by defining bacteria. The next step will be to define antibiotics. I will then continue by explaining the concept of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. I will focus on specific ways in which bacteria become resistant to antibiotics. I will continue with ideas of how to control the resistance. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a growing phenomenon that becomes more serious as more bacteria resist drugs. I will finish my paper by listing and explaining ideas that are being used now or will be used in the future in an attempt to control the problem of resistance.
Bacteria are organisms that are made up of a single cell. They live in and on our bodies. The only places that you will not find bacteria living in us are in our blood and spinal fluid (CDC, 2013). While many bacteria are beneficial to us and we could not live without them, a number of bacteria are harmful to us and cause diseases. Bacteria reproduce or replicate in just a number of hours, which leads them to evolve rapidly and smoothly adapt to their surroundings (Emerging, 2005). Bacteria are unique because they are able to transfer genes both vertically and horizontally (Wright, 2010).
Common diseases that were caused by bacteria and resulted in death before antibiotics included rheumatic fever, syphilis, cellulitis, and bacterial pneumonia. Antibiotics, also known as antimicrobial agents, are used to destroy or halt the growth of bacteria. Penicillin was the first antibiotic discovered by a scientist named Alexander Fleming in 1928 (CDC, 2013). The new discovery of many antibiotics over the next several years led to an extraordinary revolution of medicine by considerably lowering the rate of death and illness from the d...
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Agricultural use of antibiotics plays a huge role in bacterial resistance no matter how they are intended to be used (Khachatourians, 1998). Half of the antibiotics that are used in the United States are used for caring for and breeding farm animals, which show the alarming degree that the agricultural setting is contributing to the problem. International efforts are needed to control this problem because it is not just present in the United States but rather is prevalent throughout the world. If international efforts are not combined the regulations and laws that could be put in place will not work because we travel all over the world and the disease will be spread through the mobility. A strategy needs to be put in place to downgrade and possibly terminate the use of antibiotics in ways other than to treat human illnesses and infections in animals.
Antibiotics have been vital tools in the fight against bacterial infections, however their effectiveness has waned in recent times due to the advent of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria. According to a review by P, the uses of antibiotics, as well as influences from the environment have allowed such bacterial strains to respond to changes in their environment rapidly, and so develop resistance. This acquired ability can have serious and broad implications in the medical field, evident in
this paper is to review and summarize an article concerning antibiotic resistance. The article chosen was “The role of healthcare strategies in controlling antibiotic resistance” by Ann-Marie Aziz (2013) published in British Journal of Nursing, Vol. 22 Issue 18. This article discusses essential components to understand how antibiotics work; different strains of bacteria; what antibiotic resistance means and consists of; antibiotic resistance when pertaining to the production of foods. Along with strategies
The Necessity to Prevent Antibiotic Resistance Approximately one year ago in Kentucky, a man went to sleep thinking he might have caught a flu. The next day, he is rushed to the local hospital while coughing up chunks of lung tissue; within a few hours he experiences organ failure and lips into a coma. Over the next two days, two other patients come in with the same symptoms and die almost immediately. This epidemic that swept over this small area in Kentucky was an ultra resistant strain of staph
In 2013, a bacterium was found in New Zealand that was resistant to every single antibiotic known to man. New Zealand's leading microbiologist said the country might be setback 100 years when disease-causing bacteria eventually becomes immune to antibiotics. The World Health Organization has said that in 10 years, antibiotics will no longer effectively treat bacterial diseases (Su, 2014). Selection of resistant microorganisms is exacerbated by inappropriate use of antimicrobials. Animal husbandry
you a dose of antibiotics. A week later, your sore throat is completely gone and you are back to normal. Many people have taken antibiotics, but don’t necessarily know what they are, how frequently they consume them, or how risky their use is in general. According the Merriam-Webster, an antibiotic is defined as “a substance produced by or semisynthetic substance derived from a microorganism and able in dilute solution to inhibit or kill another microorganism.” Today, we use antibiotics in almost everything
Antibiotic Resistance John Pearson Concepts of Biology 12/7/2014 Antibiotic resistance is basically when even after the use of antibiotics there are some bacteria that remains alive because it is immune to it, then that bacteria reproduces and reproduces until there is only the strongest bacteria left. Antibiotic resistance is generally a very big problem because it makes it so that bacterial infections and even diseases will eventually be very hard to nearly impossible to treat
The discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century was a major advancement in medicine. At the time of the discovery, war was taking place, which resulted in a plethora of infected wounds. Antibiotics can be described as a use, laboratory effect, or an action of a chemical compound (Clardy et al). Selman Waksman first used the term in 1941 when describing the small molecules made by microorganisms that prevent the growth of other microorganisms (Clardy et al). Antibiotics helped control the infection
are so used to the idea that any antibiotics can cure just about any infections. And truly, the development of antibiotics is well thought out among the most important rise of modern science and antibiotics has saved millions of lives. However, antibiotic is becoming a rising threat to the human health and is happening worldwide. What is antibiotics? — a chemical produced by fungi and bacteria, that inhibits with the biochemistry of bacterium fungi. Antibiotics many would say is a miracle drug
Superbugs: Overcoming the Resistance Bio 1M03 PBL Project March 11, 2014 This report has been edited and approved by all contributing group members before submission. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has presented many problems in our society, including an increased chance of fatality due to infections that could have otherwise been treated with success. Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections, but overexposure to these drugs give the bacteria more opportunities to mutate
pharmaceutical companies maintain active antibiotic research programs, many have halted their antibiotic programs. So despite encouraging research and development of new anitbacterial drugs is necessary, new drugs alone are not the answer. Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) was introduced in 1987, and it works by “allowing topoisomerases to cut DNA, but not “glue” the ends back together. The result is that the bacterium can no longer replicate its DNA, keeping the bacterial population in check” (Guilfoile 2007)
Antibiotic Resistance: Is it the Defeat of Modern Medicine? What if there were no treatment for strep throat? Or pneumonia? Or sinus infections? It is hard to imagine life without medicine for these illnesses. But what if the antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections such as strep throat and pneumonia stopped working? What if the bacteria were stronger than the antibiotics? The threat of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections is an increasing concern for healthcare providers, and it is important
today is antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance happens when the bacteria that an antibiotic is made to treat learns how to fight the treatment, and develops a strain of DNA that resists the antibiotic. The resistance is then spread from generation to generation and from one bacteria to another bacteria. The article “Antibiotic Resistance Is Worrisome, but Not Hopeless” states that the misuse and overuse of antibiotics by humans is one of the reasons for the development of resistance but not
Head scientist of the antibiotic research center at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ohio, Gerry Wright, has studied the genes of 500 streptomyces strains, a type of bacteria, many of which had never previously been identified. All 500 strains held antibiotic-resistance genes and on average were resistant to 8 of 21 tested antibiotics (Sachs). With an average resistance rate as high as 67 percent in some of these streptomyces species, it is evident that antibiotic-resistance is a rising problem. Regardless
Antibiotic resistance is a phenomenon in which microorganisms undergo a genetic mutation that allows them to withstand the effects of antibiotic agents designed to kill them or make them incapable of reproduction. To understand antibiotic resistance, it is important to understand what antibiotics are and the mechanisms behind these drugs that affect diseases. Antibiotics are chemical agents that specifically target certain bacterial strains and disable the bacteria by preventing their reproduction
differences between viral and bacterial infection will be exampled. Antimicrobial agents consist of antibiotic, antifungals, antiprotozoal, and antiviral. “Antibiotics are powerful medicines that fight