A superbug is a pathogen that has evolved the necessary ability to become resistant to the antimicrobial drug that would work successfully against it in the past. There are many problems with superbugs, the first being that if one bacterium has become resistant to all known antibiotics, then there is not defense that health-care providers can work with in order to help patients with this strain of bacteria. There are a few reasons why we are now seeing many antimicrobial resistant bacteria currently. The first reason is bacterial mutation and conjugation. Through the process of replication, bacterial genome can mutation and sometimes create a beneficial mutation for the bacterium that allows it to survive in the presence of antimicrobial drugs. Bacterial conjugation allows these beneficial mutations to be shared among bacteria, multiplying the number of bacteria that can benefit from this mutation. Antimicrobial resistance can also be attributed to over-prescription of antibiotics, individuals prematurely stopping their prescribed antibiotics, and the overuse of antibiotics in the farming industry.
On superbug that has become antimicrobial resistance is the vibrio cholera bacteria. These bacteria produce the Cholera Disease which has been a common cause of death in countries with poor water sanitation and fecal exposure to water sources. One article mentioned the antibiotic resistance of Vibrio cholerae strains from the 1990s in Siberia and Far East Russia. This research is aimed at understanding the mutations that these cholera bacteria gained, the epidemiology of cholera and establishing the origin of strains. This can help researchers with the current cholera antibiotic resistance fight. Another article I found addressing V. cholerae antimicrobial resistance documented the current strains of V. cholerae in India that are resistant to the currently used antibiotics. Although cholera is one disease that can usually be aided with an immense amount of fluids and electrolytes for some healthy adults. There are many other pathogens that are also evolving the ability to evade our known antimicrobial drugs.
Antibiotics are hugely important for the way that we treat even simple things like a UTI but also more harmful pathogens like C. difficile. It is of the utmost importance that we cut back the amount of prescription of these valuable antibiotics outside of their intended usage and change the agriculture industries usage. If we do not, I think it will become more and more common to see the already present antimicrobial resistant related deaths in our hospitals when patients are unable to be treated with the antibiotics we have. We are currently in a race against the microbes in developing new antibiotics and potentially novel ways to treat patients with bacterial infections such as phage therapy.
Thoughts about Small Things 