Explained: What Is Antibiotic Resistance And How Are We Dealing With It

Since the introduction of antibiotics to the world in the middle of the 20th century, the percentage of deaths attributable to infections has decreased from over 50% to 10-15%. Since the beginning of time, experts have warned that the threat of antibiotic resistance could send us back to a time when even minor infections could be fatal.

How significant is the problem, though? According to a study published in 2019 more people die each year from infections caused by microbes that are resistant to antibiotics than from malaria or HIV/AIDS combined.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest problems facing humanity, according to experts. By 2050, they project that 10 million people will have perished as a result of the issue if it is not resolved.

What causes resistance to antibiotics?

Bacteria that have adapted to avoid antibiotics are said to be resistant to them. The main causes of resistance are antibiotic overuse and abuse. In other words, the problem of antibiotic resistance gets worse the more antibiotics we use.

Antibiotics kill bacteria from the inside out by attaching to a specific target protein on the bacteria. For instance, penicillin weakens the bacterial cell wall, causing the cell to break down.

Mutations that enable bacteria to prevent drugs from binding to them are the most frequent means by which bacteria evade antibiotics. The antibiotic key no longer unlocks the cell door because it appears as though the bacteria changed the locks.

Crisis of antibiotic resistance | medicalnewstoday

The worst case scenario is when bacteria develop many of these backup mechanisms, meaning that even if you manage to overcome one, other resistances may step in to fill the void.

Solution to antibiotic resistance

The problem of antibiotic resistance will never go away. Because of the nature of natural selection-driven evolution, bacteria will always find ways to resist antibiotics. However, experts are hopeful that in the coming decades we can find ways to limit antibiotic resistance, at least enough to prevent the problem from worsening into a larger crisis.

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Unfortunately, finding a drug that will permanently defeat antibiotic resistance is not as easy as it might seem. Even more difficult to understand scientifically than developing a vaccine for a virus like COVID-19.

One is that bacteria vary greatly; not all medications affect all organisms, and not all medications will kill all organisms.

Modifying the current antibiotics

The problem has been studied by scientists from a variety of perspectives. One strategy is to alter outdated antibiotics to combat resistance. To enhance their drug-like properties and combat resistance, medicinal chemists have repeatedly altered penicillin and cephalosporin antibiotics.

However, George Wright, a biochemist clarified that it is not possible to modify these structures indefinitely. Instead of addressing the root cause of antibiotic resistance, it serves more as a postponement strategy. There are diminishing returns after a certain point because new compounds either have subpar drug-like properties or toxicities that render them inappropriate, the scientist claimed, as cited by The Frontline.

Create new antibiotics

Making entirely new medications is an alternative strategy, but it hasn't been very effective in recent years. The last truly novel chemical structure that led to a drug that is currently being used in humans was actually discovered in the middle of the 1980s.

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But there are some indications of development. One is that researchers now have access to much more advanced drug discovery tools, including artificial intelligence (AI).

Scientists are overcoming more recent obstacles to drug discovery with the aid of these new innovations. It is hoped that antimicrobial-resistant medicines can be developed quickly enough to have an impact on the world's health care.

Buying time for antibiotic control

Some medical professionals advocate for tighter regulation of antibiotic use in the short term so that they are only used when absolutely necessary. In the hopes that drug discovery will catch up, this will buy us some time to slow down antibiotic resistance.

Many regions of the world do not have adequate regulation of antibiotics. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic in India, where people can purchase antibiotics over the counter in pharmacies, they were sold in large quantities, very rapidly.

Experts assert that restricting the use of antibiotics in agriculture would also have a significant impact. The use of antibiotics for livestock growth is prohibited in the EU and the US, and the EU introduced legislation to outlaw all forms of routine antibiotic use for farming in 2022.