Every school day I will post my newly learned cool fact... Enjoy
25/03/2013
EVOLUTION
ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE
In the 1930’s and 1940’s antibiotics hit the market.
Inspired from research on a mold called Penicillium, scientists were able to develop
a group of drugs that could attack and destroy bacterial infections.
As World War II broke like a storm across Europe, millions
who were injured were saved by the invention.
The scientists involved were awarded the Nobel Prize and the
world declared the war on bacteria won and over…
Or so we thought, for a decade or two.
Very quickly a bacterium commonly known as Golden Staff
developed antibacterial drug resistance and the problem spread.
Areas where heavy use of antibiotics was present (like hospitals)
were not only especially vulnerable but also extremely likely to have the resistant drug present.
Scientists began to voice alarm.
People were feeding cattle and sheep feed that was laced
with antibiotics.
Doctors were prescribing extremely powerful antibiotics for
mild infections and even in some cases viral infections.
Misuse was rampant. People self-diagnosing, not fulfilling regimes…
problems were growing.
Rules were instated.
The first rule of
antibiotics is try not to use them, and the second rule is try not to use too
many of them.
—Paul L. Marino,
The ICU Book
By killing bacteria that were vulnerable to antibiotics we
were destroying the genetic variants that were susceptible.
As such we were also breeding a race of super bugs that
could not be stopped.
The situation here in Queensland Australia has been decided
to be so serious that for access to the most powerful of drugs, for both
treatment and research, we have must have permission from the state department.
The surgeon general of the UK was several weeks ago citing anti-bacterial
resistance as a leading concern for the world. Along with international
terrorism and climate change!!
This is extremely serious!
The greatest fear comes from the void that exists in our
research program.
Pharmacy companies are funnelling money away from
antibacterial research.
It can cost billions
of dollars to get a product to shelf in today’s world of complex research and
high standards. There simply isn’t value for money doing antibiotics. If a
patient has a heart complaint then a drug that can fix him will be used for the
rest of his life. With antibiotics, bacteria can change so quickly and develop resistance
so swiftly that to get ten years of shelf life from one product is very
fortunate indeed.
We need to immediately focus research onto this problem or
within the next decade or two we could find antibacterial resistant infections the
norm and not the exception.
It would be a world back to the 19th century of
medicine.
A place were surgery was practically impossible and a
procedure as simple as wisdom teeth removal would be life threatening.
Scary ha?
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