Antibiotic crisis gives new life to history's diseases

Abuse of antibiotics is causing serious problems in the world today, with the re-emergence of diseases such as tuberculosis which we thought were a thing of the past. An estimated 700,000 people die every year as a result of antibiotic resistance.

In order to prevent an antibiotic resistant society, it is important to take steps now which will encourage correct use of antibiotics to increase their life span of efficacy.

Approximately 50% of antibiotics available globally can be purchased without prescription, either on the black market or over the counter in certain countries. For this reason, better education about the misuse of antibiotics is key to the campaign for the proper use of the drug. Said education would need to, not only teach about the correct use of antibiotics, but also preventative measures such as hand-washing, vaccination and improved hygiene.

Bacteria have acquired resistance to nearly all antibiotics that have been developed to date. The development of new antibiotics has steadily decreased in the past three decades and now resistance is on the rise faster than we can develop new treatments. 

According to the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, it takes over 12 years and costs £1.15 billion to do all the research necessary to gain the licence for a new medicine. Many agree that this archetype for drug development is inadequate when it comes to developing antibiotics. 

But not all the research geared towards tackling antibiotic resistance is focussed on developing new drugs. Some researchers are looking at alternatives to antibiotics like pre and probiotics. A recent review into such alternatives concluded that they are likely to be used preventatively, unless a large investment is made to allow them to be developed into therapies. 

Another interim solution being explored is the use of antibiotic resistance breakers (ARB) which involves co-administering a non-antibiotic drug with a failing antibiotic.