Antibiotic resistance rise fears

Antibiotic resistance rise fears

news.bbc.co.uk

The rise in antibiotic resistance is reaching worrying levels, experts say.

The Health Protection Agency said while the focus on infections such as MRSA had been largely successful, new trends in other bugs were now posing a threat.

The HPA said the NHS must be careful over antibiotic use and urged industry to look into developing new drugs.

There are some cracks in the system, but they are not big ones yet.

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No big cracks yet. Not until there are too many of these resistant bugs running around.



That's the problem. Antibiotics are being prescribed for acute illnesses that don't require them. People are expecting to receive a prescription for the their ailment, no matter what.

This puts doctors in a situation where they don't want to be. So what do they do? They prescribe the medicine anyway.

Another situation that might arise, like one that I was recently in, would be one where the doctor just treats the symptoms of an illness that he'd rather not take the time to diagnose. This speeds up the process, makes his Pharma rep happy, and ultimately creates more profit for him and his colleagues.

All of this, just to introduce an abundance of antibiotic resistant bugs that don't really care what medicine you're taking.

-Dev

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