Misuse and Abuse of Antibiotics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Misuse and Abuse of Antibiotics - Essay Example regulated. Despite the Penicllin Act of 1948, more and more resistant strains of bacteria kept evolving, and continued research led to development of newer and newer antibiotics. The effect was devastating. In 1950s, a resistant strain of the bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus led to catastrophic events throughout the world, especially in the hospital setting and especially in children admitted to the hospital. Thus, the mechanism of resistance was probed into, and researches ultimately found that development of resistance is produced by indiscriminate use of the antibiotics, and such use may well be termed as misuse or abuse (Wenzel, R.P., 2002). The rational use of antibiotics is dependent on understanding of their mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetics, toxicities, interactions; bacterial strategies of resistance; and bacterial susceptibilities in vitro. The acquired resistance is a well-known major limitation to effective antibacterial chemotherapy. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics develop by mutation of the resident bacterial genes or by acquisition of new genes that resist antibiotics to cause bacterial death. Almost all bacteria have cellular mechanisms of transmission of genetic traits by a system of mobile genetic elements, such as, plasmids, transposons, and bacteriophages (Martnez, J.L. and Baquero, F., 2002). As a result, the new genes mediating resistance are spread from bacteria to bacteria to create a colony of resistant bacteria. Such populations flourish in areas of high antibiotic use where they enjoy a selective advantage over susceptible population. To answer the question how resistance becomes operative, one can deduce that the antimicrobial...Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy; 52: 564 - 571. Martnez, J.L. and Baquero, F., (2002). Interactions among Strategies Associated with Bacterial Infection: Pathogenicity, Epidemicity, and Antibiotic Resistance. Clinical Microbiologic Review; 15: pp. 647 - 679. Metlay, J.P., Shea, J.A., and Asch, D.A., (2002). Antibiotic Prescribing Decisions of Generalists and Infectious Disease Specialists: Thresholds for Adopting New Drug Therapies. Medical Decision Making; 22: 498 - 505.