What is Drug Resistance

Drug resistance is a severe problem that’s drastically increasing, and it’s the result of antimicrobial use and misuse. Drug-resistant organisms often pose a “superbug” threat that no longer responds to traditional drugs because they’ve evolved resistant genes while simultaneously increasing virulence or lethality. In other words, these bugs are more resilient than ever before. 

Therefore, it’s essential to learn about drug resistance to better implement infection control practices. Also, since antimicrobial use is one of the factors fueling resistance among drug-resistant organisms, people must be educated about the problem.

What are Antimicrobials?

Antimicrobials are any drugs that act against bacteria and fungi. They are essentially used when treating various bacterial infections. Antibiotics are often the first-line treatment for a wide range of diseases.

They’re used to treat everything from skin infections to tuberculosis (TB), a devastating infectious disease. We’re concerned with antimicrobial resistance here since it’s super-important to know how to fight antibiotic-resistant diseases.

Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial drug resistance is a growing problem that threatens several vital advances in medicine—including cancer chemotherapy and organ transplantation. The term “antimicrobial resistance” refers to the continued ability of a normally susceptible species of organism to grow and multiply. It occurs under conditions where the drug confers selective advantage (i.e. when used according to label directions, etc.) on the organism, i.e., the organism becomes resistant to a particular antimicrobial in use against it.

Cause of Antimicrobial Resistance

This resistance is due to several factors, including:

Misuse of Drugs

The emergence of resistance has been caused by misuse. One way to get rid of a drug-resistant infection is to give the patient an antibiotic that will kill resistant bacteria. Some superbugs evolved from antibiotics misused in humans and are now immune to those drugs.

Inadequate Diagnostics 

For example, it’s impossible to determine whether a pneumonia patient is resistant to all antibiotics. In this case, the physician is forced to choose from among several equally effective drugs to treat the infection. When they’re not used according to label directions or prescribed inappropriately, many antimicrobial medicines are rendered ineffective and lose their efficacy over time.

Biological/Natural Causes 

In addition, antimicrobial resistance occurs in nature. The drug-resistant gene can spread from one bacterium to another and sometimes even to other species of bacteria. Some bacteria can also go dormant and become resistant.

Hospital Use 

Antimicrobial resistance can also develop in the hospital setting, for example, due to overuse. The extensive use of antimicrobials and close contact among sick patients creates a fertile environment for the spread of antimicrobial-resistant germs.

How Does Antimicrobial Resistance Spread and Emerge?

The emergence of drug resistance depends on genetic differences between bacterial populations. Some bacteria have genes that make them resistant to certain drugs, while other bacteria may lack these genes. As a result, if an antimicrobial drug kills the susceptible bacteria, only drug-resistant bacteria remain in the population and can propagate.

What are Examples of Antimicrobials?

There are many different types of antimicrobial drugs, and they’re used in many different ways. Some are used to kill bacteria, while others stop the growth of bacteria. For example, there are antibacterial drugs that kill bacteria by interfering with cell wall synthesis, preventing the formation of new bacterial cell membranes. 

There are also antibiotic drugs that prevent bacterial growth by stopping cell wall synthesis or assaulting bacteria’s DNA or ribosomal structures. Antibiotics also function by inhibiting metabolic pathways that bacteria use for energy production, making them too tired to grow and reproduce.

Penicillin 

Penicillin is among the most common antibiotics used in hospitals. It’s a relatively weak antibiotic, but it kills bacteria by interfering with cell wall synthesis and preventing bacterial cell membranes from forming.

Tetracycline 

A synthetic drug prescribed for many infections, tetracycline is often the first-line treatment for some infectious diseases and chronic bacterial infections such as pneumonia and other respiratory tract infections; certain conditions of the skin, eye, lymphatic, intestinal, genital and urinary systems; and certain other diseases that are spread by ticks, lice, mites, and infected animals.

Valacyclovir 

Valacyclovir is a synthetic antiviral drug taken orally to treat herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections. HSV infection is a common cause of cold sores or fever blisters around the mouth, leading to more severe complications.

Fluconazole

Fluconazole is a synthetic drug for treating fungal infections. Candida (or candidiasis) is a fungal infection affecting any mucous membrane in the body. It has been found in the vagina, mouth, and skin.

Conclusion

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing problem that threatens advances in modern medicine. The emergence of drug-resistant organisms can be attributed to several factors, including biological causes, hospital use, and natural causes. 

Many different types of antimicrobials kill bacteria or stop their growth. Misuse is one cause of drug resistance. Other causes include inadequate diagnostics and biological reasons that occur in nature.