This story is from October 2017
One of the world’s leading scientists is warning of an impending apocalypse. No, not a zombie apocalypse, but rather one involving unstoppable bacteria against whom no antibiotics work. She says she is worried that our future generations will live in a world where antibiotics no longer protect them from disease.
Leading Scientists Says A Super Bacteria Apocalypse Is On Its Way
Professor Dame Sally Davies, a scientist and Chief Medical Officer for the United Kingdom, has warned that if we don’t do something soon, our antibiotics will become useless against drug-resistant bacteria. This could lead to 10 million people dying every year from drug-resistant diseases. In the United States, at least two million people are already infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) predicts that 23,000 people die every year due to that. Globally, the number is predicted to be more than 700,000 deaths from superbugs. In the next three decades, we will reach that 10 million deaths mark if we don’t do something fast.
“We really are facing, if we don’t take action now, a dreadful post-antibiotic apocalypse,” Davies said at a conference in Berlin. “I don’t want to say to my children that I didn’t do my best to protect them and their children.” (1)
We Need To Use Less Antibiotics
The first step to solving this problem is simply by only using antibiotics when they are absolutely necessary. This isn’t just a piece of information for doctors, however, but for patients, too. Too often, patients demand antibiotics from their doctors when they really don’t need them. Davies says that demanding patients who push doctors to prescribe antibiotics for things like the cold virus is a big part of the problem. Antibiotics don’t even work against viruses, only illnesses caused by bacterial infections. Many patients think that doctors are being mean or cheap when they refuse to prescribe these medications when, in truth, they are simply trying to save them for when they would actually make a difference.
“Research has found that often [the public] think doctors are trying to save money,” Davies said. “When in fact they are trying to save the drugs, so that they work when they are actually needed.”
Other Solutions
Using fewer antibiotics isn’t the only solution to this superbug apocalypse problem. Molecular biologist at the University of Massachusetts, Margaret Riley, says we need to develop new germ and bacteria-killing drugs. She has been working on a group of drugs called bacteriocins. (2)
These are antibiotics produced by strains of certain species of microorganisms that are active against other strains of the same or related species. Unlike traditional antibiotics, which take out good bacteria as well as the bad, bacteriocins are more specific. You can also tweak them to target specific bacteria, for example, E.coli, which causes 90% of urinary tract infections. UTIs are one of the leading reasons for a doctor to prescribe antibiotics. Figure out an alternative method for treating these infections, and we will make a sizeable dent in the number of antibiotics being prescribed per year. (3)
UTIs are the only infections that Riley and her team are trying to use to prevent bacteriocins. They also target tuberculosis and the bacteria that cause lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients. Another company based in Maine is working on developing bacteriocin medications for livestock. This is because 80% of antibiotic use in the United States is in livestock, a huge contributor to resistance. They are working on a drug for bovine mastitis and one for controlling chickens’ respiratory diseases. Riley’s goal is a future where antibiotic use only occurs in the emergency room, and we stick to other options, such as bacteriocins, in all other settings.
Bacteriocins Not The Only Option
Another option for fighting bacteria without using antibiotics is by using something called bacteriophages. These are, quite literally, bacteria-eating viruses. They are a pathogen that has evolved to kill other pathogens. Don’t worry, though – they attack only one type of pathogen, meaning they can be designed to specifically fight only the bacteria that are causing harm. Phage therapy, however, takes time, as you have to find the specific virus that fights the specific bacteria – which can be very time-consuming.
Though this kind of treatment is still in its experimental phase, it has been successful. It has already saved the life of one 69-year-old man in California who nearly died from the antibiotic-resistant bacterium called Acinetobacter. Both bacteriocins and bacteriophages could be viable treatment options to help reduce the need for antibiotics.
“There are people dying every minute from antibiotic resistant infection in this country,” says phage science pioneer microbiologist Carl Merril. “Every one of those people I think we could save.”
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Sources
- “Britain could face ‘post-antibiotic apocalypse’ warns top doctor .” Telegraph. Laura Donnelly. October 13, 2017.
- “The ‘Post-Antibiotic Apocalypse’ Can Be Prevented. Here’s How.” NBC News. Corey S. Powell. October 20, 2017.
- “Bacteriocin.” Science Direct. T.M. Karpiński, A.K. Szkaradkiewicz.