Antibiotic Untold Story

Penicillin the first antibiotic was discovered accidentally.It saved millions of people from life threatening conditions and became wonder drug. Penicillin was humanity greatest friend. Beginning of antibiotic era is greatest time of human civilization as average life expectancy doubled, previously impossible surgeries are possible, disabilities reduced and overall quality of life improved. In developing countries where sanitation is still poor, antibiotics decrease the morbidity and mortality caused by food-borne and other poverty-related infections.

But Alexander Fleming predicted rise of resistant strains at beginning of antibioticera and coming ofpost antibiotic era. By an estimate antibiotic resistance alone will kill more people every year then cancer putting burdenof $100 trillion,

Graduallywith time antibiotic efficiency is challenged by evolution of resistant strains, notably MRSA&MDR strainsforcing pharmaceutical companies to develop new molecules, setting a chain of evolution of antibiotic molecules along with evolution of resistant strains.Antibiotic usehad set a vicious cycle whererisk depends on benefit and vice versa.

Dependency of medical system on antibiotics started global trend of OTC selling of antibiotics particularly in lower income countries facilitating rapid evolution of resistant strains and antibioticfailure.WHO took notice of this trend and banned OTC selling of antibioticsin such countries.Even after factors like banningof antibiotics by higher income countries, lowered interest of pharmaceuticalcompanies due to less profitability and strict regulations globalantibiotic sell is raised by 36%.

Gradually farmers also stared using antibiotic in milk and meat industry,making condition really bad by spreading resistance at community level.The resistance spreads among even those bacteria who were not exposed to antibiotics and those antibiotics who were not used.Spread of resistance is neoplastic in nature and gripped poor economies whom it benefitted first.

The impact of resistance is not limited to failed antibiotic’s but also include more cases of opportunistic infections, damaging prognosis and reducing favorable outcome.

The big question now is what next.?Could it be another generation of antibiotic or better alternate. Promising candidate are bacteriophages, bacteriocins, Persister killer cells, peptide-conjugated phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer (PPMOs), Metals (silver/copper), essential oil. Every option has its own merits and demerits. Among all the options essential oil has lowest chances of development of resistance because of presence of many organic compounds, while phages are most promising regarding efficiency.