The fightback against antimicrobial resistance starts at home

"Harmful bacteria and other pathogens are rapidly developing countermeasures to the world's antibiotic arsenal, and eroding physician's ability to treat infections. Unless resistance can be slowed, and drugs brought in to replace those that no longer work, microorganisms that are a minor inconvenience today could be killers tomorrow. And the world would re-enter an era of deaths from preventable causes."

"To paraphrase the microbiologist Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, in his 1945 Nobel prize lecture: when you take antibiotics, take enough. Fleming knew then that exposing bacteria to sub-lethal doses of penicillin could generate resistance. So, too, does taking antibiotics for viral infections. Another problem, especially in countries where antibiotics are sold on the street, is that people use the most powerful drugs available when a more commonplace one would suffice."

"Some major drivers of antimicrobial resistance, such as widespread agricultural use of antimicrobial agents, are less amenable to individual action. The practice puts livestock handlers and fruit pickers at especially high risk of developing hard-to-treat infections. And resistant bacteria can spread readily from farms to homes on food products, and can even be carried on the breeze."

"There is also a desperate need to address the economic headwinds that have almost halted the development of antibiotics. And when new antimicrobial products do arrive, they will need to be used more sensibly than have those th"

Harmful pathogens are rapidly developing countermeasures to existing antibiotics, reducing physicians’ ability to treat infections. If resistance is not slowed and replacement drugs are not developed, minor infections could become lethal and deaths from preventable causes could return. Individuals can help by taking antibiotics only when appropriate and using them at effective doses rather than sub-lethal courses. Taking antibiotics for viral infections and using overly powerful drugs when simpler options would work both accelerate resistance and reduce the effectiveness of life-saving medicines for others. Agricultural antimicrobial use increases risk for workers and enables resistant bacteria to spread from farms to homes through food and even airborne routes. Economic barriers have slowed antibiotic development, and new products must be used more sensibly.

Read at Nature