Antibiotic Resistance and MRSA

Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that can be found on the skin and in the throat. It cause range of illnesses from minor skin infections to life-threatening disease such as meningitis and septicemia.

Some strains of Staphylococcus aureus have evolved become resistant to one or more of the commonly used antibiotics including methicillin. These are termed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). MRSA is especially prevalent in hospitals:

- Here patients tend to be more vulnerable to the infection

i.e. older, sicker and weaker.

- People live together and are examined by doctors and nurses that have just touched other patients.

- Many antibiotics strains are used, any resistant strains therefore have an advantage,

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Antibiotic Resistance and TB

TB is a bacterial disease of the lungs. Antibiotics can be used to treat TB but they need to be taken for 6 - 9 months and this is where the problem lies. 

- TB that is resistant to the 2 most commonly used antibiotics (isoniazid and rifampin) is called multidrug resistant (MDR) TB.

- MDR TB requires treatment for 18-24 months with "second-line drugs" (there are currenly only six second-line drugs) that are much less effective, poorly tolerated by the patient, and far more costly. 

- Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR TB) is a subset of MDR TB caused by strains of bacteria that are resistant to the most effective first- and second- line drugs.

Why have these resistance strains increased?

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Prevent Antibiotic Resistance Now!!

They are some important steps should be taken by every human to prevent and stop antibiotic resistance.

Doctors, nurses, veterinarians and other health workers

Don’t prescribe or dispense antibiotics unless they are truly necessary and you have made all efforts to test and confirm which antibiotic your human patient or the animal you are treating should have. Today, it is estimated that in half of all cases, antibiotics are prescribed for conditions caused by viruses, where they do no good. You can also do more to prevent infections in the first place by ensuring your hands, instruments and environment are clean, and employing vaccines where appropriate.

People using healthcare

* Talk with your healthcare provider about antibiotic resistance:

 - Ask whether an antibiotic is likely to be beneficial for your illness

 - Ask what else you can do to feel better sooner

* Do not take an antibiotic for a viral infection like a cold or the flu.

* Do not save some of your antibiotic for the next time you get sick. Discard any leftover medication once you have completed your prescribed course of treatment.

* Take antibiotics only when prescribed by a certified health professional, but also don’t be timid about asking if you feel you really need them. If you take an antibiotic, always complete the full prescription, even if you feel better, because stopping treatment early promotes the growth of drug-resistant bacteria.

* Do not take antibiotics prescribed for someone else. The antibiotic may not be appropriate for your illness. Taking the wrong medicine may delay correct treatment and allow bacteria to multiply.

* If your healthcare provider determines that you do not have a bacterial infection, ask about ways to help relieve your symptoms. Do not pressure your provider to prescribe an antibiotic.

Farmers and others in the agriculture sector

Ensure that antibiotics given to animals are used only to control or treat infectious diseases and under veterinary supervision. Misuse of antibiotics in livestock, aquaculture and crops is a key factor contributing to antibiotic resistance and its spread into the environment, food chain and humans. Clean and uncrowded conditions and vaccination of animals can reduce the need to use antibiotics.

Governments

We need robust national action plans to tackle antibiotic resistance. Critical steps are improved surveillance of antibiotic-resistant infections, regulation of the appropriate use of quality medicines, and education about the dangers of overuse.

Development organisations

Compared with populations in industrialised nations, people in low-income countries are not getting fair access to antibiotics. Countries seeking donor help to strengthen their health systems need guidance to ensure essential antibiotics are affordable, reach the people who really need them, and are used responsibly.

Industry

Industry needs to move faster and more aggressively to research and develop new antibiotics, but we also have to implement new ways of stimulating research and development. Many talk of an antibiotic “discovery void” since the late 1980s. We are currently in a race between drug development and bacterial evolution. Incentives for developing new antibiotics can help. There are some encouraging trends.

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What the Industry do from Antibiotics?

In our life when we hear about antibitics, we always relate antibiotics with humans. But the truth is not only humans are taking antibiotics.

More than 80% of antibiotics are given for animals for the rapid growth and to prevent from sicks caught from not clean environments. It's maybe sounds great but they are not.

Over the years there has been a significant increase in the amount of antibiotic resistance super-bugs and if you were to get ill, it could be very hard, even impossible to find a cure to recover.

When consumer reports tested chicken, it showed that two thirds of the chicken samples contained harmful bacteria, to make matters worse, more than half the bugs were resistant to antibiotics! Furthermore, some meat labels are not approved by the government and are even misleading, making the customer feel as though the product is perfectly healthy.

The good news is, some labels are honest and sell healthy produce, particularly labels which are organic. From this it could be concluded that some parts of the meat industry are willing to put aside the public’s health in order to make more money, whether this comes as a shock or not, is irrelevant, it is important to make sure you check labels before purchasing meat.

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