The Silent Pandemic: Understanding The Causes And Consequences Of Antimicrobial Resistance

Resistant organisms need treatment with higher-cost antibiotics, which have more severe adverse effects.

Overuse of antimicrobials is a cause of antimicrobial resistance: Antibiotics are medicines that prevent and treat infectious diseases in humans, animals and plants. Antibiotics are the most essential weapon in our armamentarium against contagious diseases. Antibiotic resistance occurs when an antibiotic becomes ineffective in treating an infection and contributes to severe illness, disability, increased length of hospital stay, costs and even death. The emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance pose a serious obstacle to the treatment of common infections and also to life-saving procedures such as cardiac surgery, cancer chemotherapy, organ transplants and joint replacements.

• Antibiotic resistance (AMR) is a silent pandemic and a growing public health issue which needs to be addressed urgently.
• Microorganisms or germs can develop resistance to one or more antibiotics or even all antibiotics, in which case they are informally addressed as superbugs.
• A complicated surgery or a successful transplant can meet failure if an infection with a resistant bug sets in.
• Today, we are almost in a post-antibiotic era, with antibiotic-resistant organisms seen at the community level.

The Cause Of AMR Is Multifactorial

Misuse of antibiotics, that is, consuming them for viral infections, where they could be more effective. Antibiotics work only in bacterial infections.

• The misuse can be attributed to the availability of antibiotics over the counter without the need for a doctor's prescription, which leads to self-medication.
• Stopping antibiotics before completing the prescribed course, getting symptomatic relief or extending the course for a prolonged period irrationally is another faulty practice which may cause AMR.
• On many occasions, patients insist on an antibiotic prescription and go doctor shopping or self-medicate if they don't get a prescription.
• Sometimes, a patient is unwell for other reasons and illogically prescribed an antibiotic.
• Poultry products often contain antibiotics, which are used to fatten them or as growth promoters. Thus, humans inadvertently consume these antibiotics.
• Antibiotics consumed by an individual are likely to reach the sewage water system and may lead to antibiotic resistance even in individuals who have never consumed antibiotics.

Sometimes, Bacteria Mutate Or Evolve To Become Resistant

The consequences of injudicious use of antibiotics can be grave.

• Irrational consumption of antibiotics causes an imbalance between the beneficial and harmful bacteria harboured in our bodies by selection pressure, thus leading to resistance.
• By suppressing the good bacteria, unnecessary antibiotics can lead to antibiotic-associated diarrhoea.
• Antibiotic resistance can lead to delayed treatment with the correct antibiotic, which can increase hospital costs and even cause mortality.