Antibiotic Resistance: Bayonets against tele-directed rockets

Antibiotic resistance is an issue that increasingly threatens our ability to treat infectious diseases and has jeopardized progress in global health in recent decades, due to the abuse and misuse of antibiotics in humans and also in agricultural sector. Proof of this is that 700,000 people die every year from infections related to bacteria that have developed antibiotic resistance, and it is estimated that by 2050, if things don’t change, we will reach 10 million deaths. Diseases, such as tuberculosis or salmonellosis, are becoming increasingly difficult to treat.

We urgently need new antibiotics. At the It’s not Healthy campaign we have been demanding more research in this area covered due to the reality of data: no new class of antibiotics have been discovered for thirty years. The development of new antibiotics by large pharmaceutical companies has virtually stopped: of the eight antibiotics approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the last six years, most have no new mechanisms of action, or are simply combinations of existing antibiotics. As ISGlobal—a member of It’s not Healthy—points out in their report, The 4 fronts in the battle against antibiotic resistance, which it just published, “It’s as if in the 21^stcentury we used bayonets to fight an army equipped with remote-controlled rockets.”

The paper discusses the steps that are being taken in the face of this threat and how we can help stop it. It states that we have knowledge to end the spread of these multi-drug-resistant bacteria in the near future. “The sea and other natural resources offer an incredibly diverse source of products with antibacterial potential, the result of millions of years of natural selection. The development of new diagnostic techniques allows us to increasingly adapt the treatment for each patient and avoid the unnecessary use of antibiotics. We are beginning to understand the mechanisms that lead to the appearance and selection of resistances and their consequences. Last but not least, we are building and strengthening antimicrobial resistance monitoring networks.”

The emergence of genes that can develop resistance to different antibiotics is inevitable and is part of the normal evolutionary process of any microorganism. However, there are steps that can be taken to address this. At that point, scientific research is key. It is necessary to implement laws that ensure the rational use of these drugs (including in the agricultural field) and encourage the development of future drugs; and raising public awareness about individual rational use of antibioticsor avoiding self-medication.

Only reform to the research and development system of medicines would allow us to confront this global threat.

If you want more information, you may consult the ISGlobal report here.