When bacteria change and become resistant to the antibiotic drugs that usually kill them, antibiotic resistance occurs. Antibiotic resistance severely restricts available treatments and is a major global health issue. Now that some bacteria strains are superbugs, they are resistant to a variety of antibiotics. Here’s all about antibiotic resistance and when to contact our English speaking general practitioner in Costa del Sol when antibiotics don’t work.
What is antibiotic resistance?
Antibiotic resistance happens when bacteria change in a way that makes it impossible for antibiotic medications to kill them or stop their growth. As a direct consequence of this, bacterial infections become extraordinarily challenging to treat.
Drug resistance can also develop in viruses, parasites, and fungi.
The bacteria in your body are the ones that become resistant to antibiotics, not your body. When antibiotic resistance occurs, a particular bacterium becomes resistant to a smaller number of available antibiotic treatments. Although additional antibiotics are frequently helpful, it is crucial to have access to a wide range of treatment options.
Why is antibiotic resistance a problem?
We don't notice the occurrence of antibiotic resistance until we treat a patient. The antibiotic, which had been successful in the past, abruptly stops working or becomes less effective. It takes some time to figure out what's going on, and in the meantime, your condition deteriorates. There is a possibility that an infection that could be treated at home in the past will now require hospitalisation.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health issue in the WHO European Region. In the EU/EEA alone, more than 670,000 infections are caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and 33 000 people die as a direct result.
What causes antibiotic resistance?
Antibiotic resistance is frequently influenced by the following factors:
- Antibiotic resistance can be caused by the misuse of antibiotics, which involves taking antibiotics even when they are not required or beneficial. For example, the majority of cases of pharyngitis (also known as sore throat) are caused by viruses. Antibiotics are not going to be helpful in this case. Even bacterial ear infections typically get better without the need for antibiotic treatment.
- Abuse of antibiotics: Bacteria will take advantage of any chance they get to multiply. Misuse of antibiotics. Bacteria begin to multiply if you miss taking a medication for a day (or several days), stop treatment too soon, or use the wrong antibiotics (like taking someone else's medication). They have the capacity to mutate as they proliferate. The resistance of mutated bacteria to a given medication increases.
- Use in agriculture: Bacteria in animals can develop resistance to antibiotics.
- The genetic makeup (DNA) of a bacterium can occasionally change or mutate on its own, which is referred to as spontaneous resistance. Because the antibiotic does not recognise this bacterium in its altered state, it is unable to target it in the appropriate manner. Alternately, the change may assist the bacteria in resisting the effects of the medication.
- Resistance can be passed on from one person to another in the form of a contagious bacterial infection that is resistant to treatment. That individual currently suffers from an infection that is resistant to treatment with an antibiotic. Again, we are usually able to find a treatment for the issue, but because some time has passed, the bacteria may have become resistant, making it more difficult to treat.
The treatment of antibiotic resistance
In a recent study that was published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, researchers managed to combat antibiotic resistance with a genetically modified bacteria in mice. This genetically modified bacteria might be useful in the treatment of lung infections that are difficult to cure.
The research conducted on mice demonstrated that a re-engineered bacteria could be used to target drug-resistant infections and make them susceptible to antibiotics that would otherwise be ineffective in treating them.
The treatment has been described as a "battering ram that lays siege to antibiotic-resistant bacteria" by Dr. Maria Lluch of the International University of Catalonia, who was also a senior author on the study.
The treatment creates openings in the cell walls of the organisms being treated, which allows antibiotics to more easily enter the cells and eliminate infections at their root cause. This could be a promising new approach to addressing the primary reason for deaths that occur in healthcare facilities.
According to the findings of the study that was conducted at the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona, using a treatment that was based on bacteria more than doubled the survival rate of mice in comparison to not using any treatment at all. There were no indications of toxicity in the lungs following the administration of a single, high dose of the treatment. After the course of treatment had been completed, the immune system eliminated the modified bacteria in a span of four days after beginning the process.
English speaking general practitioner in Costa del Sol
If an infection shows signs of antibiotic resistance, you should call our English speaking general practitioner in Costa del Sol. Our GP may try a different drug. It's possible that the new medication will have more severe adverse effects, and switching antibiotics increases the likelihood that your body will become resistant to the one you're currently taking.