Superbugs are a Super-B****!

Since antibiotics were first discovered they have become commonly prescribed by doctors and taken for granted by patients. Most people have probably taken an antibiotic even if they had a virus, simply because they thought that it was a cure-all drug. While this seems harmless to an outsider, this is detrimental to microbiologists. The over-prescribing and improper use of antibiotics could mean that these miracle drugs could become ineffective sooner than you think. According to Dr. Alyssa Letourneau, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Program “Bacteria are smart…so they can over time mutate to become resistant to the drug that fights them”. When antibiotics are continuously prescribed they quickly lose effectiveness and new antibiotics have to be developed. The bacteria can share their resistance with other bacteria which makes the resistance spread even faster. 

At some point, bacteria can become completely resistant to all known antibiotics and are referred to as superbugs. One example of a superbug that is listed as an urgent threat by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). CRE is the largest threat in healthcare facilities since the patients are already immunocompromised. Since normal antibiotics don’t work doctors may be forced to use “more toxic or less effective treatment options” which could end up being just as harmful to the patient. Another example of a superbug is Clostridioides difficile, which we have already discussed in detail in class. C. diff causes large amounts of diarrhea and is actually caused by antibiotics killing off normal gut microbiota. One of the reasons the CDC is so concerned is because C. diff can cause severe dehydration that can be fatal. 

In order to stop the spread of these superbugs and prevent antibiotics from becoming completely useless, changes need to be made sooner rather than later. In my opinion, the changes need to start with medical professionals. Antibiotics are prescribed way too often and many times are not even necessary. Patients get a lot of hate for not taking them properly but I think doctors should be just as responsible since they are medical professionals. The average American doesn’t know how an antibiotic works or what type of illnesses require antimicrobial treatment. On the other hand, a doctor goes through years of school, training, and certifications in order to have the authority to prescribe these drugs. 

The prescribing of antibiotics needs to be dialed back majorly and they should only be used as a last resort under close supervision. If this doesn’t happen then superbugs are only going to get more powerful and claim more lives. Time is limited and it is time to treat these little bacteria as a big problem.