Antibiotic resistance: An emerging threat to public health

Abstract

Antibiotics have been significantly used in the management of many diseases caused by various infections. The issue of antibiotic resistance is becoming a major public health concern, as most of the bacteria are developing resistance to antibiotics commonly used to treat them. Antibiotic resistance may lead to treatment failure, added burden to healthcare cost, spreading of resistant bacteria in community and also it increases mortality. These problems may eventually become a threat which may force us to return to a pre-antibiotic era. Necessary actions such as infection control measures, preventing inappropriate prescriptions, ensuring that full course is prescribed with adequate doses, new discovery of antibiotics. Unnecessary use of antibiotics in horticulture and animal husbandry has to be avoided to combat the resistance. India is a major contributor to overall antibiotic consumption of the world. Excessive use of antibiotics as over-the-counter drugs without proper prescription and diagnosis may ultimately lead to development of powerful multidrug-resistant strains of bacteria. Rational and appropriate use of antibiotics, antibiotic stewardship programs and new discovery of antibiotics may reduce the problems of antibiotic resistance to a greater extend. There is indeed a growing need to reverse the public health issues associated with antibiotic-resistant infections. This article briefly describes various strategies and approaches to overcome antibiotic resistance.