97 years ago, Alexander Fleming discovered the first antibiotic — Penicillin. This was an instant game changer in humanity’s combat with infectious diseases. Before antibiotics came, illnesses like cholera, meningitis, malaria, tuberculosis, and pneumonia were mostly deadly or caused prolonged suffering and disability. The life expectancy in industrialised countries then was just 47 years. Today, it has almost doubled to 81.7 years. Most common infectious diseases now have known, fairly affordable, and rapid cures with antibiotics.
But we may be losing our gains.
A Complex Present
Picture this. A young man just had a surgery done for appendicitis. He’s healing fine. But he has an infection arising from the surgical site. The surgeon is unbothered. He gives the young man the usual antibiotics. But a day later, that infection has not cleared. In fact, the patient only grows worse. The concerned surgeon runs a test to identify the infecting organism and what antibiotics will kill it. The results come out and he sees: E. coli. “A common bug”, he thinks. But ahh! It is resistant to all antibiotics tested against this germ in the lab. The young man gets worse and worse. But there is no treatment. At last he dies.
That is the story of the 1 million people the WHO says died of antibiotic-resistant infections in 2021.
Microorganisms are developing resistance to our antibiotics. It is like evolution in real time.
How Does This Happen?
When you use antibiotics, the drugs kill germs that are susceptible. Any germ that survives does so because it has traits that help it endure the antibiotic. These survivors then multiply and create a new population that is resistant. Use that antibiotic again and treatment will fail.
There are several scenarios where this mechanism can play out, and this shows the true far-reaching nature of antibiotic use, abuse and possible resistance.
Let’s look at some of them.
Human Healthcare
- Underdosing antibiotics or stopping them earlier than prescribed
- Using the wrong antibiotic for a given microorganism
- Unnecessary use of antibiotics — treating headaches, period pain, or even the common cold
Animals, Farms and Fisheries
Two-thirds of all antibiotics produced are actually used in animals and fish. They are commonly added to feed to improve growth and prevent infection. In countries like Nigeria, where veterinarians are underutilised, farmers and pet owners often prescribe antibiotics for their animals without attention to dose or suitability. This carelessness fuels resistance.
Pharmaceutical Companies
Poor disposal of wastes from these companies may end up introducing antibiotics into the environment. This may cause environmental germs to be unduly exposed and so develop resistance.
A Threatened Future
In the next 25 years, the world will be having 2 million deaths annually from resistant infections. Slowly tuberculosis is developing resistance to the common treatments. Pockets of resistance to the standard drugs for malaria have been reported in East Africa.
We must not go back to the pre-Fleming years. That would be unliveable. So, the world and national governments, and you, yes you, have work to do.
Read this to find out what.
