Imagine a world where a simple paper-cut can land you in the hospital fighting for your life, or giving birth to a child once again becomes one of the most dangerous and pivotal moments a woman faces. This is a world where antibiotics are no longer a viable means of staving off infections, as the smallest organisms in existence have now become so enormously resistant to all forms of antibiotics, that simple infections can and will kill you.

This “antibiotic apocalypse” is a phenomenon that scientists pray will never materialize and will stay the topics of nightmarish science fiction novels, but I am writing to inform you that unfortunately, an antibiotic apocalypse may be closer to the brink of reality than you’re comfortable with.

The 21st century is one full of medical advances and technologies that has allowed society to overcome diseases and infections that 60 years ago would have killed you. When we’re sick, we take a trip to our family doctor who then prescribes us a medicine to help us heal. More often than not, doctors are mis-prescribing antibiotics for illnesses that do not require them.

Being prescribed antibiotics for an illness not directly caused by bacteria has dire consequences. Introducing unneeded antibiotics to your system allows the few bacteria that might be living inside you to adapt to the new antibiotic filled environment. Most of these bacteria die, but a small amount survive, now resistant  to this antibiotic. They reproduce, passing on their new resistance genes, and now a large population of bacteria are resistant to that one antibiotic you were prescribed to help fight off that cold.

Another commonly discussed method of emerging antibiotic resistance is a result of prophylactic use within animal populations. Some bacteria are zoonotic, meaning they can breach from not just infecting animals, but also infecting humans.

Until recently, pumping animals full of antibiotics was the norm. It has been going on for so long, there is no feasible way to measure the damage that it has potentially cost society. Pressure from across the globe has slowly built, and  farmers now are being forced from many corporations to go “antibiotic free.”

It is safe to conclude that not only have antibiotics been overused, they have also been too widely used for too long. There have not been any new advances in antibiotic development since the late 1980’s according to the CDC (1). This year, congress has poured more than $160 million into an antibiotic resistance initiative focused on finding new means of antimicrobial drugs and addressing the issue head on in the clinical setting (1).

But I ask you… is this too little to late? We hope that physicians can kick their old habits and develop more accurate ways of diagnosing bacterial infections that actually require the use of an antibiotic. We hope that the bacterial resistance built up within animal populations won’t threaten the world someday. But if you ask me, simply hoping for the appropriate steps to be taken leaves me a little uneasy. I, and I am sure now you, would also like to see real change within the science community to combat the threat of an antibiotic apocalypse. Again, I am only left to hope that others will see the true crisis we face, and begin to make strides towards a brighter future. Only time will tell…

References

1. “Antibiotic Resistance Solutions Initiative.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.