Change Your World Week Winter 2022 (Archived)

Antibiotics have played a huge part in lives all around the world. Without antibiotics, many of us might not be where we currently are today. However, while they have been of great use and have remedied innumerable sicknesses, from strep throat to severe staph infections, medical experts are concerned that the over/unnecessary use of these drugs has already been, and will eventually become, an even larger problem within our multiple healthcare systems throughout the world very soon. Many people often make the mistake of using antibiotics to fight off viral infections such as the cold or flu, which cannot be fought with antibiotics since they are caused by viruses, not bacteria.  By using antibiotics on viral infections, our bodies can build up a resistance to them since they cannot be used to fight the infection, which means when you actually need to use them later on, they will no longer work the way they should and you may be sick for longer periods of time. If antibiotics continue to be misused, or if patients continue to not finish all of their prescribed drugs, bacteria will continue to gain resistance to more and more antibiotics over time and we will eventually not be able to use antibiotics to fight bacteria anymore.  That would be a bad day for everyone around the world!

Statistics show that “There were an estimated 4.95 million deaths associated with bacterial AMR (Antimicrobial Resistance) in 2019, including 1.27 million deaths attributable to bacterial AMR” (The Lancet, 2022). With those numbers being only a couple of years old, we can assume that the numbers have gone up dramatically since.  Current predictions for 2050 state that we could see as many as 10 MILLION deaths that year due to antibiotic resistant infections, which is 1.8 million more deaths than even cancer will be accountable for. 

So how can Antibacterial Resistance be slowed?  Is it possible to prevent these drastic numbers from becoming a reality in 2050?  Professor Heymann of the Global Health Program suggests that “a legally binding global treaty to curb the misuse and overuse of antibiotics is an attractive and viable option to consider in this respect”.  This would constructively limit the ability of healthcare organizations all around the world to dish out antibiotics whenever they want, thus helping to prevent antibiotic abuse and help push healthier alternatives. Even easier ways of slowing Antibiotic Resistance would consist of “finish[ing] all antibacterial drugs as prescribed, not taking antibacterial drugs for viral infections, limit[ing] the use of antibiotics in…animals sold for human consumption, isolation procedures, and educating ourselves!” (Swarthout, pg. 423).

Kusum Wagle. (2018, May 16). Antimicrobial Resistance: A Growing Threat. Antibiotics & Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): Rising in Bullet Speed! Retrieved March 24, 2022, from https://www.publichealthnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Featured.jpg   

Heymann, D. (2020, October 14). Preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics with a global treaty. Chatham House – International Affairs Think Tank. Retrieved February 5, 2022, from https://www.chathamhouse.org/2019/06/preserve-effectiveness-antibiotics-global-treaty?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9vfozvbo9QIVi8mUCR3IygKUEAAYAyAAEgL4R_D_BwE  

Murray, C., et al. (2022). Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systemic analysis. The Lancet 

Healthy Canadians. (2016, November 8). How to prevent antibiotic resistance . YouTube. Retrieved March 24, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOO7vDMwHwY

Lauren, S. (2015, September 8). Lol Abx antibiotics antibiotic resistance: Biology humor, science humor, science jokes. Pinterest. Retrieved March 28, 2022, from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/345299496408555394/