The growing threat posed by antibiotic-resistant superbugs has sent many firms scrambling for joint innovative ways to fight menacing illnesses.
At the first United Nations general assembly meeting that delved on the antibiotic crisis, UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon highlighted that antimicrobial resistance is a “fundamental threat” to global health and safety that must be jointly addressed. All 193 member states signified their agreement by signing a declaration aimed at combating the proliferation of antibiotic resistance.
Over the past few years, chief medical officers of nation-states have been warning the public about the imminent outbreak of antibiotic-resistant diseases (or superbugs that can withstand antibiotic drugs). Among the first people to sound the alarm bells was Alexander Fleming, Nobel Prize winner credited with creating penicillin.
Fleming witnessed how many soldiers perished from sepsis due to infected wounds. The esteemed pharmacologist and botanist is well-remembered for is alerting the public on the “danger that the ignorant man may easily underdose himself and by exposing his microbes to non-lethal quantities of the drug make them resistant.”
Meantime, the Arlington-based Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Pentagon’s research and development division, has expressed that its focused comprehensive effort in biological technologies is moving forward this 2017. Scientific American tweeted that “2017 will `blow our minds’” and in the drawing board are DNA- and RNA-based approaches to fight infectious disease.
To date, the scientific and medical community has been devising novel treatment options to draw pathogens out of the bloodstream without using antibiotics. Indeed, frequent and widespread use of antibiotics — on farm animals as well as humans, just hasten the rise of superbugs.
Antibiotic Resistance May Reach Tipping Point
Factors, like the use of antibiotics in the food supply chain across the world, the tendency for people to overclean or pop an antibiotic at the slightest sign of sickness (without doctor’s go-signal), have been noted by those well-informed about antibiotic resistance.
Hopes are high that more individuals and organizations in the private sector will join hands with governments as the latter implement stricter regulations regarding the use of antibiotics. Sustainable reduction of antibiotic use will be hinged on research that will uncover and create efficient, safe, and cost-effective alternatives.