Why should we be scared of antibiotic resistance?

Antibiotic resistance occurs when microorganisms such as bacteria gain the ability to fight off drugs designed to kill them. The body itself does not become resistant to antibiotics but the strain of the microorganism infecting the body is what becomes resistant. According to the CDC, this growing problem is making it much more difficult to treat bacterial infections and other resistant microbes, and sometimes impossible to treat them. Around 2.8 million people in the US are infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria and are forced to have longer hospital stays and resort to toxic alternatives. Due to this, I believe it would be best for restrictions to be placed on antibiotic use to help slow down the development of antibiotic resistant microbes.

On the Biggest Threats and Data list of the CDC, Clostridioides difficile is one of the most concerning antibiotic resistant bacteria and is on the most urgent threats category. More than 220,000 cases of antibiotic resistant bacterial infections is a result of this bacteria. Furthermore, 12,800 deaths of the 35,000 reported on average each year are caused by Clostridioides difficile. This is an astonishing number for one bacteria to cause and could have been prevented if antibiotics were properly used from the time it was discovered. Furthermore, I believe the number of infections and deaths can be significantly reduced if everyone used proper sanitization techniques and washed their hands properly.

Antibiotic resistance is occurring because of the improper use of antibiotics. Many people are misinformed on the uses of antibiotic and are using them inappropriately such as for viral infections. Using antibiotics on viral infections has no effect and only negatively impacts your microbiome leading to antibiotic resistant bacterial strains. Furthermore, people prescribed antibiotics sometimes don’t follow the instructions of the doctor and take them at random times, which gives the bacteria gaps to where antibiotic resistance to develop. Overall, antibiotic resistance is a growing problem that could potentially lead to an era where antibiotics will no longer be effective.