Antibiotics – Handle with Care!
Antibiotics are supposed to be our back-up plan to treat bacterial infections. Unfortunately, we used this back-up plan too quickly and too often in the past and bacteria have adapted and become antibiotic-resistant. Since the discovery of the first antibiotic substance (penicillin) in 1928, bacteria are adapting and learning to survive. In the 1940s scientists already identified penicillin-resistant bacteria. New antibiotic classes were subsequently discovered and developed in the 1940s, followed by the discovery of new resistance in the early 1950s. This problem is older than our Scheme. As scientists developed new antibiotics over the years, bacteria kept on learning and developing resistance.
But, we made the problem worse. Most of us don’t afford our bodies the time to heal, but rather take antibiotics to get better more quickly. Some of us don’t even mind eating food full of antibiotics. Antibiotics are used in agriculture to increase the production of meat or milk, improve reproduction or to prevent diseases in healthy animals.
As a result, infections caused by bacteria, are getting more difficult to treat, as antibiotics become less effective. While today there are new antibiotics in development, none of them seem to be effective enough to treat the most dangerous forms of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This leads to higher medical costs, longer hospital stays and increased mortality.
It is long overdue for society to change the way we use antibiotics to protect us against the threats of antibiotic resistance. ‘Standard’ operations like a caesarean section could become more dangerous without effective antibiotics. Infections plaguing South Africa will be much harder to fight, such as pneumonia, foodborne diseases and tuberculosis.
Prof Andrew Whitelaw, a microbiologist from the University of Stellenbosch and member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) on anti-microbial resistance, has been raising alarm bells for many years. In an interview with health24.com in 2014 he warned:
"In hospitals, many of the bacteria (up to 60 or 70% in some centres) are resistant to most available antibiotics, leaving only one or two options available for treatment". We have all heard about hospital-acquired infections and superbugs killing patients that were only admitted for quick routine surgery. This is a global emergency which requires us to all work together – patients, health care providers and science.
What can we as patients do?
- Prevent infections by looking after your health and body, not to get sick in the first place.
- Practice hygienic habits, live a healthy lifestyle and vaccinate where appropriate. Antibiotics in general do not cure viral infections. Immunisation protects against viruses.
- Only use antibiotics when and how your doctor prescribes them.
- Never demand them when your doctor says you don’t need them.
- Never share or use leftover antibiotics.
- Watch what you eat and which food you buy. Many food producers use antibiotics unnecessarily for growth promotion or to prevent disease in healthy animals.
What does the health care industry need to do?
Health care professionals should only prescribe and dispense antibiotics when they are appropriate and needed. Professionals need to educate their patients and staff on this topic. Furthermore, the health care industry will have to invest heavily in research and development of new antibiotics, vaccines and diagnostics.
Handle antibiotics with care. Don’t just take them to get rid of an infection a little faster to be back at work quicker or to go to a function in a few days’ time. You may one day need effective antibiotics for a more serious infection. Remember infections caused by viruses, such as colds, flu, most coughs, and sore throats cannot be treated with antibiotics, even though we regularly take them for these conditions. When we hopefully get these new, expensive antibiotics we can’t afford to keep on misusing them!
