Antibiotics have for over 70 years been an efficient way to treat bacterial contamination, but it is unfortunate that extensive use of antibiotic substances for medication and agriculture has caused antibiotic resistance. World Health Organization has even warned that humanity is almost in the post-antibiotic era when antibiotics will not have an effect and even minute illnesses will be life-threatening.
The resistant microbes are usually called superbugs.
Antimicrobial resistance develops naturally over as micro-organisms gradually adapt and reproduce. Overuse or misuses of antibiotics vastly accelerate antibiotic resistance for instance when someone takes them frequently to treat a cold or promote growth in animals reared for food.
Antibiotic resistance problem occurs after evolution and transfer of the genes that grant resistance to antibiotics into human pathogens. It complicates disease treatment, healthcare costs, morbidity and mortality when pathogen acquires such resistant genes. It becomes more precious to administer the so called antibiotic of last resort as antibiotic resistance persists. Internationally, reducing or preventing dissemination of the antibiotic resistance genes to human pathogens is highly essential. The solution lies in finding alternatives to antibiotics to reduce overuse and another way of vaccination, treatment as well as supporting the growth of animals.
Alternatives To Antibiotics In Development
Bacteriophage therapy
Bacteriophage (phage) therapy is one of the antibiotic choices undergoing extensive research for disease treatment. Phage viruses infect bacteria and use of phages as a treatment for bacterial diseases has been under investigation for a long time and continued. Several phages but variable efficacy has been the reason for these therapeutic products not to penetrate other markets.
Advantages of phage therapy include efficacy on mucosal or topical infections and specificity for a target bacterial population. The disadvantages of bacteriophage therapy are that will just work when there is knowledge of target bacterium, its sufficiently high populations and the range of resistance. Therapeutic phage must be up-to-date for it to function.