On September 21st the UN held an historical meeting to discuss the rising global effects of antibiotic resistance. These high-level meetings on health issues have only been held in times of crisis, as in 2011 to discuss eradicating HIV and the AIDs and in 2014 to discuss stopping the spread of Ebola.
Antibiotic resistance is the rising challenge countries around the world are facing, with patients becoming infected in greater numbers (2 million/year as reported by the CDC) from common bacterial infections that have been easily treated in the past. The use of antibiotics over the years has come to be accepted and prescribed in large quantities and, as a result, the evolution of super-bugs (or organisms resistant to current antibiotic on the market) is becoming more prevalent. This causes complications in surgical and cancer treatment cases and poses mounting costs on the healthcare system worldwide. The UN addressed this issue and is pushing for greater awareness of the problem from medical providers, researchers and the public on the importance of antibiotic use in cases of infection and for the proper handling of medications. Over prescription and over consumption of antibiotics is believed to have caused this resistance to surface and, therefore, we must be wary of the potential outcomes of continuing such practices.
The adverse effects of antibiotic resistance will also affect agriculture and animal husbandry as the economic impact of antibiotic resistant crops and animals to disease will hit worldwide, and the implications of a mass-loss in substance production would be felt in everybody’s pockets.
It is vital to maintain an awareness of the outcomes of new policy changes and major decisions on this issue and an unprecedented global effort will be required to tackle the resistance to antibiotics. Researchers at VIC are committed to developing new vaccines to prevent emerging infectious diseases.
Written By: Anastasia Artamonova
