Antibiotic Resistance And Its Effects

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 and growth. Before or right when symptoms start occurring in a body following an infection, usually the white blood cells of the human body can cope with the infection. But when it gets past the power of WBCs, antibiotics are prescribed to prevent permanent damage to the body, permanent internal damage, sepsis or even death. The first antibiotic was Penicillin and this is a big component of modern day antibiotic medications such as ampicillin, amoxicillin and benzylpenicillin. Antibiotic resistance is when an antibiotic has lost its ability to effectively control or kill bacterial growth due to the bacterial organism changing its genetic makeup. In other words, the bacteria become resistant and continue to multiply despite the presence of therapeutic levels of an antibiotic. When a disease becomes antibiotic resistant, it is often considered incurable, and can pose a serious public health threat as a consequence.

Resistance develops as a result of natural selection. Due to continuous exposure, the bacterial organism changes its genetic make up and these bacteria with mutations will pass the trait that helps then survive antibacterial mechanisms to their offspring which will eventually become a fully resistant generation. Antibiotic r...

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...esistant Streptococcus Pneumoniae: S. pneumoniae is the leading cause of bacterial pneumonia and meningitis in the U.S. along with causing bloodstream, ear and sinus infections. Per year, there are about 1,200,000 drug resistant streptococcus pneumoniae infections reported that result in 7,000 deaths and 19,000 excess hospitalizations. This excess in medical services cost $96,000,000 in excess medical costs per year.

f) Drug resistant non-typhoidal Salmonella: This bacteria causes bloody diarrhea, fever and cramps that sometimes lead to life-threatening complications. Every year, 1,200,000 salmonella infections occur and 100,000 of these are drug resistant. Treatment for these resistant infections causes an excess expenditure of $365,000,000 in medical costs.

g) Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA): Staph causes a wide range of illnesses such as