The golden age of antibiotics is over, the immediate future will be a nightmare for humans

In 1928, penicillin, the first antibiotic found by a Scottish biologist, Alexander Fleming. He is considered to have opened the golden era of antibiotics in medicine. It is called the medicine of western medicine, when it saves millions of sick people every year from the death caused by infection.

However, that wonderful story seems to be coming to an end. After more than 70 years of antibiotics were introduced into medicine, its golden age was no longer maintained. There are millions of people who die each year in an era without antibiotics, and then will be a similar number in the coming years. This nightmare is called " antibiotic resistance ", and comes from the very abuse of human drugs.

Antibiotic surviving bacteria is a nightmare for humanity.

What is antibiotic resistance?

Antibiotic resistance is a phenomenon that occurs when germs or bacteria are not destroyed by antibiotics. They not only exist but also reproduce new generations of bacteria, also have resistance to chemicals and chemicals to treat infections .

A strain of bacteria can grow to resist from one to dozens of different antibiotics. Meanwhile, the infection becomes difficult or even impossible to treat. In some cases, patients may have to undergo surgical resection, or even die of antibiotic resistance.

Why is antibiotic resistance a nightmare for humans?

If you come back before 1943, when antibiotics have not yet appeared, all the deaths around us do not come from cancer or cardiovascular disease. People will die from injuries when they fall, hit bullets, work accidents . Most wounds lead to infection and end someone's life.

However, all changed after Fleming found penicillin . The infection is considered a death sentence, and can suddenly be treated after a " snap of a finger " with antibiotics. Like a miracle, it opened a golden age for western medicine. Antibiotics are considered medicinal herbs.

So far, more than 70 years have passed, and we suspect that there are times when a golden age of something can last that long. It's not too early to think about the collapse of the antibiotic era, when bacteria are increasingly resistant to drugs.

In the 1943s, antibiotics were considered miracles.

Talking about a modern civilization, we often imagine power plants, computers, handheld devices . But who knows that antibiotics are one of the pillars that support that world. If the antibiotic era collapsed, how would civilization shake?

First, we will lose all defense shields for people with weak immune systems. They include cancer patients, HIV-infected people, premature babies . This means the death of all these people.

Next, human surgical techniques are disabled. Many surgeries are required to use preventive antibiotics. When antibiotics are ineffective, the hospital operating room is not covered.

We will not be able to perform heart surgery, kidney transplantation, catheterization for stroke patients . We cannot operate even if we simply correct the knee joint. It is not possible to have a caesarean, and even in the most modern hospitals, 1 out of 100 pregnant women will die.

Antibiotic resistance leads to failure in treating infections.

Infection causes fear from trivial diseases. Strep throat causes heart failure. Pneumonia kills 3 in 10 children with the disease. Skin infections are synonymous with amputation. Remember the first case of penicillin treatment. Albert Alexander had previously lost an eye in the state of pustules, only starting from scratching his face while gardening.

Then you dare to do anything when any damage can kill people. Do you dare to ride a motorbike, rollerblade, climb stairs to fix the roof or place your child playing on the floor?

When will these things happen?

Are you startled to know that we were in this nightmare?

Until today, human beings have in their hands less than 100 types of antibiotics. The number is not much different from the early years of the 21st century. But in 2000, an American patient was first confirmed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to resist all antibiotics. except for two types.

In 2008, Swedish doctors faced a case of an Indian patient who was infected with an antibiotic that contained only one type.

10 million people will die each year because of antibiotic resistance in 2050.

But don't think it's just a single case. Each year, the United States and Europe alone have about 50,000 deaths due to infection without cure. A project funded by the British government called " Antibiotic Resistance Assessment Program " estimates the total number of deaths of this type in the world at 700,000 people each year. By 2050, the number will be up to 10 million with the current rate of antibiotic resistance developing.

Ignoring the numbers, you can also know that nightmares have come to yourself and your loved ones. In the past, urinary symptoms caused by urinary tract infections could be completely cured with a short-term antibiotic. Now, you may have to use several drugs.

Recent research indicates that your child is at risk of being in 25% of children with urinary tract infections who must use 3 different antibiotics. The remaining 25% are treated with 2 drugs and only half of children can be cured with a single drug.

On April 30, 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated in a report that humanity is really in the nightmare of antibiotic resistance. It is a serious threat and medical challenge in this moment. WHO said " do not act today, our future will have no cure ".

Fleming knew everything beforehand

Alexander Fleming, who paved the way for the golden age of western medicine with antibiotics.

Alexander Fleming, a Scottish biologist considered the father of antibiotics when he discovered penicillin in 1928. In 1943, the first commercial penicillin doses were released. Two years later, Fleming received the Nobel Prize for his discovery.

But right after that interview, he warned of the prospect of being unhappy when the bacteria could become resistant. " People who abuse penicillin today, they are responsible for the deaths of patients infected with penicillin-resistant bacteria later, " Flenming said. " I hope this danger can be controlled ."

And that's right. In 1943, penicillin was released and in 1945, penicillin-resistant bacteria appeared. People go looking for new antibiotics. In 1972, vancomycin was prepared and vancomycin-resistant in 1988.

Imipenem was born in 1985 and in 1998, imipenem resistance appeared. One of the newest antibiotics of humanity, daptomycin was born in 2003, only one year later appeared resistant bacteria.

This is like a sheep jumping game. The drug is born, bacteria are resistant to it and then we look for a new drug. But it seems that humans are short of breath when a new strain of bacteria is born every 20 minutes, pharmaceutical companies need a decade to study an antibiotic.

What can we do?

First of all, let's talk about why bacteria can become resistant. From a cellular perspective, it is the genetic genetic modification of bacterial DNA that: avoids the penetration of antibiotics into them, helps the enzyme synthesize enzymes to inactivate or decompose antibiotics, changing Metabolic pathways and they release antibiotics from the cells.

People have been abusing antibiotics.

Ignoring these complexities, you should be aware of the people who have supported their genetically modified bacteria. Those are collectively called names: abuse of antibiotics .

Have you ever used antibiotics to treat flu without knowing it's caused by the virus and not the bacteria? Have you ever arbitrarily reduced the dose or duration of antibiotic treatment of a doctor to half without knowing it facilitated bacteria to survive and create resistance genes?

Then when we use antibiotics in animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, agricultural production and fisheries, that is the condition for the bacteria in animal resistance to drugs and then affect humans. Using biocides in regular cleaning also creates resistant strains of bacteria.

So far, antibiotic resistance has become a global problem that only comes from small things but everyone does so often. Global solutions will also have to be set. It is possible that we should strictly prohibit the use of antibiotics in livestock and fisheries. Set up a gate to control antibiotic prescriptions to avoid indiscriminate abuse or build up a system to monitor the warning of imminent resistance .

But then these are too big things and need a small amount of funding. Why don't we start with the actions of each individual?

Every individual needs to take action to combat drug-resistant bacteria.

By reading this article, you have also contributed to the risk of reducing antibiotic resistance in the future. If you really want to join hands with humanity in the common nightmare, here are some recommendations that should be made and shared with everyone:

1. Never use antibiotics on your own. For example, regular flu viruses, if you take antibiotics, will not work.

2. Talk to your doctor if they prescribe antibiotics for you. Ask them if they can treat non-antibiotics . And if required, is that antibiotic suitable for your body?

3. Strictly follow the dose and duration of treatment with your doctor's antibiotic, even if you think you are better or have cured. Reducing doses or stopping treatment early facilitates bacteria to survive drug resistance and re-infection.

4. Do not save the antibiotic treated in the previous batch to reuse it. Throw them away, because next time they will probably lose their effect.

5. Same disease but do not use other people's prescriptions . As said, not all antibiotics are right for you.

6. Quit the habit of asking your doctor to prescribe antibiotics for you. They are experienced people and if you have no signs of infection, treating symptoms with non-antibiotic drugs is enough.