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Antibiotic Resistance
Disease-causing microbes that have
become resistant to drug therapy are
an increasing public health problem.
Tuberculosis, gonorrhea, malaria,
and childhood ear infections are
just a few of the diseases that have
become hard to treat with antibiotic
drugs. Part of the problem is that
bacteria and other microorganisms
that cause infections are remarkably
resilient and can develop ways to
survive drugs meant to kill or
weaken them. This antibiotic
resistance, also known as
antimicrobial resistance or drug
resistance, is due largely to the
increasing use of antibiotics. Other
facts:
Though food-producing animals are
given antibiotic drugs for important
therapeutic, disease prevention or
production reasons, these drugs can
cause microbes to become resistant
to drugs used to treat human
illness, ultimately making some
human sicknesses harder to treat.
About 70 percent of bacteria that
cause infections in hospitals are
resistant to at least one of the
drugs most commonly used to treat
infections.
Some organisms are resistant to all
approved antibiotics and must be
treated with experimental and
potentially toxic drugs.
Some research has shown that
antibiotics are given to patients
more often than guidelines set by
federal and other healthcare
organizations recommend. For
example, patients sometimes ask
their doctors for antibiotics for a
cold, cough, or the flu, all of
which are viral and don't respond to
antibiotics. Also, patients who are
prescribed antibiotics but don't
take the full dosing regimen can
contribute to resistance.
Unless antibiotic resistance
problems are detected as they
emerge, and actions are taken to
contain them, the world could be
faced with previously treatable
diseases that have again become
untreatable, as in the days before
antibiotics were developed.
Content Courtesy : www.fda.gov
Note : Information herein is
provided for informational purposes
only and is not a substitute for
professional medical advice. You
should not use this information for
diagnosing or treating a medical or
health condition. If you have or
suspect you have a medical problem,
promptly contact your professional
healthcare provider. Please consult
your healthcare provider before
beginning any course of
supplementation or treatment.
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