Antibiotics are medicines used to fight bacterial infections. Properly used, they serve to cure and save lives, but we’re coming across problems with resistance on an everyday basis. Every time we take an antibiotic, there is a risk of the bacteria becoming resistant and this is progressive and unstoppable.
But what exactly is antibiotic resistance? It occurs when bacteria mutate in response to the use of these drugs. So humans or animals aren’t becoming resistant to antibiotics, the bacteria are. This can be traced back to mutations in chromosomes and the transmission of genetic material from other bacteria.
Prevention, the key to alleviating the problem
As always in medicine, we have to turn to prevention to try and correct the problem. We need to pay particular attention to the medicine – antibiotic – to make the most of its therapeutic action and minimise the risks and side effects of its formulation and the way it acts. Antibiotics should only be prescribed when necessary, in line with current guidelines, and antibiotic‑resistant infections should be notified.
For normal use and when this drug has been prescribed by a doctor, certain measures must be taken:
- Follow the doctor’s instructions on how to take antibiotics to the letter and don’t be influenced by unreliable sources like social media, web sites or people who are not medical professionals.
- Antibiotics must only be used for bacterial infections, not for viral processes or any other cause or pathogen.
- Read dosage instructions carefully and follow the amounts for each intake, as well as the length of time the product must be taken.
- Follow the instructions given for how to take the product: whether before or after meals.
- Look after hygiene during and after doses.
We must change the way we prescribe and use antibiotics and take steps to reduce infection transmission, with measures like vaccines and good personal hygiene (hand washing, safe sexual relations to prevent STDs – sexually transmitted diseases, food hygiene, etc.).
The current situation
New resistance mechanisms are appearing all the time. As antibiotics lose their effectiveness, many infections (pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhoea, syphilis, septicaemia, etc.) are becoming more difficult to treat. All this is leading to increased morbimortality.
When they cannot be treated with frontline antibiotics, we will have to resort to other newer drugs.
For more than 7 years, the WHO has been keeping a close watch on a worldwide action plan on antimicrobial drug resistance, including antibiotic resistance. A long-term campaign in November (World Antimicrobial Awareness Week) with the slogan “Antibiotics: Handle with Care” includes monitoring published studies and articles.
This growing problem, which affects developed and developing countries alike, requires the cooperation and awareness of a range of stakeholders, with actions like correctly prescribing antibiotics in doctors’ surgeries. Patients also have the responsibility to avoid self-medicating and only take these drugs under medical supervision. Governments must demonstrate their commitment too, by putting initiatives in place and promoting research. In the end, it’s up to all of us to try to stop the advance of antimicrobial resistance.
Dr. Juan Antonio Andreo Ramírez
ASSSA Medical Manager
