Abstract

PRESERVING THE EFFICACY OF ANTIMICROBIALS: AN IN-DEPTH EXPLORATION OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE

Shashwat Pandey*

ABSTRACT

Antimicrobial resistance is the global health issues that threatens the world, it is mainly prevalent in the European part of world. The antimicrobial resistance proves itself as a big challenge to the health officials and public health administrators, as the mutant strain are more resistant to that antibiotic. The antimicrobial resistance is not a singly controlled process, it not depends only on the genetic constitution of the microbes or their defense mechanism against the antibiotics, but the environmental effects, use of biocides, chemicals and heavy and radioactive elements increases the resistance against anti biotics. The antimicrobial resistance becoming an infectious disease in India and itincreasing at an exponential rate in other countries too. The current pandemic situation of corona virus is also an art of resistance, the virus mutates its genome and proves itself as a major challenge. No doubt that to combat the microbe’s antibiotics as major weapon and these antimicrobials are used since decades as after the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming but now days these antimicrobials are not used only for therapeutic purpose but also prophylactically in almost all industries like agriculture industries, animal husbandry and in food industries. After all these there occur uncertainty and the microbes becomes resistant to particular antibiotic and the patient or host is unaware that antibiotic resistance has developed. There are numerous infections like pneumonia, tuberculosis and gonorrhea that increases at alarming rate because many antibiotics are less effective. The development of anti-microbial resistance is somewhat directly proportional with the level of antibiotic consumption. The antibiotic treatment in the case of multiple drug resistant bacteria and multiple infection is getting harder day by day and their action spectrum is decreasing in exponential manner. The reason behind this is retailing the antibiotics in an unethical manner not following the proper guidelines and disposing the antibiotics over the counter. This increases the decrease in health index rate against the multidrug resistant infections. In India there is alarming level of antimicrobial resistance development against pathogens like pseudomonas aeruginosa, salmonella, mycobacterium tuberculosis, Acinetobacter, shigella, klebsiella plasmodium, and HIV infection Antimicrobial resistance is a multi-factorial problem and it hampers the existing health management system. In India around 7% of GDP spent on health management and monitoring system, and it is tremendously degraded by these resistant forms of infections. Poorly trained doctors practicing in unethical manner are also the cause of antimicrobial resistance. As there is very poor accountability for the use of antibiotics and it leads to many up short, the patient remain in disease state for longer time period and patient requires longer treatment against the disease, it might be expensive and may lead to toxicity that results in morbidity and mortality. The antimicrobial resistance hampers the success rate of treatments like organ transplantation, chemotherapy and other surgeries. The antimicrobial resistance pathway, starting from the gene level to the environmental level is a circularized process which completely effects the humans, animas, and the environment. The most common example of antimicrobial resistance affecting the environment is common mold called, Aspergillus fumigatus, found in the crop field in U.S. and it weakens the immune system. The resistant spores of microorganisms can transfer from the human to animals for example Salmonella Heidelberg that affects both human and animals.

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance, Antibiotics, microorganisms.