badass bacteria

AN INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN

Although the title of this blog post sounds positive, bacteria that has evolutionary resistance against antibiotics through certain horizontal gene transfer is actually quite alarming. The increasing prevalence of this antimicrobial resistance is a significant phenomenon and concern in the public health field. In order to combat this international issue, researchers have been documenting the rate of drug resistance of specific pathogens to find a better approach to healthcare. According to a March 2019 article, some research groups in Mexico have calculated the drug resistance rate of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Enterococcus faecium to name a few. Their study aimed to create a broader picture of antimicrobial resistance of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria through the participation of 47 different laboratories and hospitals across Mexico.

SCARY STATISTICS

So, what did this research conclude? These researchers found that K. pneumoniae‘s resistance reached as high as 12.5% for respiratory specimens. They observed that after three or four generations, E. coli resisted up to 50-60% of its specified antibiotics. In Acinetobacter baumannii, the resistance rates for cefepime and ciprofloxacin were higher than 50%. Regarding the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin resistance was as high as 21.4% for respiratory specimens causing MRSA. I don’t know about you, but these statistics are quite concerning for me when antibiotics are widely thought to be the cure for ridding certain bacteria. There must be steps taken so that antibiotics can be used in its most effective state or so that the healthcare industry can use other forms of successful treatment for patients with these pathogens.

WHAT’S NEXT?

As much as I am worried about the future of therapy with these alarming statistics, there have been alternatives investigated in order for treatment to remain effective. According to a recent article, the use of antibodies, probiotics, bacteriophages, and antimicrobial peptides are currently undergoing clinical research as alternatives for conventional antibiotics. Regarding antibodies, their specificity and the inability of bacteria to develop resistance against them is highly attractive for treatment, however quite expensive. Probiotics and fecal transplant therapy have already been in practice in order to enhance and balance the human microbiota with great success. Because just designing new antibiotics will lead to inevitable resistance by bacteria, the use of oligonucleotides have also been in the works to silence resistance genes and to re-sensitize already-resistant bacteria. As more and more antibiotics are being rendered ineffective against drug-resistant bacteria, focus must be shifted towards these alternative treatment options because this antimicrobial campaign is a dangerous worldwide concern.