Eldredge 1

Harland Eldredge
Professor Baird
ENG 1010 023
3 August 2015
The Rising Resistance
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is threatening the way the human race currently exists.
With bacteria being able to counter our medicines faster than we can develop new ones, it seems
like its a fight in which we dont have the better odds in winning. But that doesnt mean we
cant give bacteria a run for its money and in time come out on top. We can fight bacterial
resistance by limiting the accessibility of antibiotics, finding new ways of utilizing existing
medication and faster ways of developing new medication, and finally by spreading the word
about the effects frivolity in the use of antibiotics is having on humanity; then do our part in
bringing about the change in antibiotic use that we need.
Change doesnt always come without difficulty, and in this case I hardly doubt that it
will. Our society has grown accustomed to using medication for everything, limiting the use of it
will not come easily, nonetheless its something that must be done if we want to have medication
that will work. Maryn McKenna, a journalist that specializes in public and global health,
discusses how we have gotten ourselves into this dire predicament of bacterial resistance:
Resistance is an inevitable biological process, but we bear the responsibility for
accelerating it. We did this by squandering antibiotics with a heedlessness that now seems
shocking. Penicillin was sold over the counter until the 1950s. In much of the developing
world, most antibiotics still are. In the United States, 50 percent of the antibiotics given in

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hospitals are unnecessary. Forty-five percent of the prescriptions written in doctor's
offices are for conditions that antibiotics cannot help. And that's just in healthcare.
McKenna explains that roughly half of the antibiotics prescribed serve no use to humans, and
that while we think they are helping us to get better, the only true effect they are having is
accelerating bacterial resistance. Exposure to these antibiotics allow the bacteria to process its
attacks and in turn strengthen their own defenses against these medicines. Over time it will
render that antibiotic useless against that infection. By limiting the access to medications we give
bacteria less chances to overcome our defenses.
While putting further restrictions on accessibility to drugs will help, it will not solve our
entire problem. Bacteria will still be able to find a way to overcome, even if it does take a little
more time on their part. We need to utilize the drugs we already have that are effective, and find
new ways to implement those into treatments that will not spread the resistance of bacteria. In a
study made by Lucy Palmer and Gerald Smaldone, they treated a group of patients in the ICU
with aerosolized antibiotics and another group with placebo aerosol and systemic antibiotics. In
their study they were able to find that with the aerosolized antibiotic they were able to eradicate
the pneumonia while not increasing the resistance to the antibiotic from bacteria, whereas with
the systemic medication it did. Another example is taken from a TED talk given by Francis
Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, when he says:
This [Speaking of a new medication used for Progeria] is a drug that was developed for
cancer. Turned out, it didn't work very well for cancer, but it has exactly the right
properties, the right shape, to work for progeria, and that's what's happened. Wouldn't it
be great if we could do that more systematically? Could we, in fact, encourage all the
companies that are out there that have drugs in their freezers that are known to be safe in

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humans but have never actually succeeded in terms of being effective for the treatments
they were tried for? Now we're learning about all these new molecular pathways -- some
of those could be repositioned or repurposed, or whatever word you want to use, for new
applications, basically teaching old drugs new tricks.
Collins is encouraging us to cut out the lengthy process of making a new drug from scratch and
rather look to sources we already have that could be effective against threatening infections and
diseases. The time it takes to test an already proven safe drug against an infection is much shorter
than that of making a completely new medication. By finding innovative ways to use effective
antibiotics without increasing bacterial resistance or having to wait on the long processes of
developing new antibiotics we can save time for the most important thing, saving lives.
Antibiotics can take as long as a decade to fully cultivate and be ready to use in
treatment, but many take a lot longer. We need to find a new and faster way to produce effective
treatment for infections if we are to stand a chance against the resistance. We could make better
use of the technology that we have at our disposal to help us speed up the process. We could use
that technology to find new types of ways to treat infection. Kary Mullis, a Nobel-prize winning
biochemist, introduced a molecule that is highly disliked by anti-bodies, which can be
technologically programmed to attach itself to certain cells or organisms within the body. He
then explains that by doing so our bodys natural defense system will put all effort into ridding
those cells, organisms, infections, viruses from our body. He shows an example of it being used
on mice who had been poisoned with anthrax who were all successfully cured from that anthrax
poisoning. There are many possibilities if we utilize the many resources we have.
One of the most powerful resources we have is spreading the word. Despite all of the
advancements and strides we have made in combating bacterial resistance, not many people

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know about bacterial resistance, much less that it is such a serious threat. By getting the word out
there, it can spark much more attention and produce more funding to back research and antibiotic
development. By helping others to see the ways that they can help reduce the spread of resistance
by minimalizing use of antibiotics, we will be giving them knowledge that they can in turn pass
on. As we all do just a bit to spread the word we can make a big difference in the future of
humanity.
Dont get me wrong, by saying do just a bit to spread the word I am not asking you to
hand over all of your savings to research or start a blog or constantly annoy friends and
acquaintances with endless ramblings of the dire emergency we are facing. Many people I know
wouldnt have the time or resources to do many of those things. What I am asking is that when
given the chance we dont stay silent about this issue. When you go to the doctor dont be afraid
to ask a few questions about the medication you have been prescribed. We have a long way to go
if we want to create a future where we dont have to live in fear of anything and everything that
could potentially harm us. Many may say that we have too long to go. Many may think that no
matter what we do it wont be enough, that we will cross that bridge when it comes to it.
The time to cross that bridge is now. I believe that we can make a difference. Yes,
bacterial resistance is scary. Its hard to fight something that you cant even see without the help
of microscopes; but, we are doing it. There are many technological and scientific advancements
that we are making every day to help us fight. I believe that as we limit the use and accessibility
of ineffective antibiotics, find innovative and faster ways to develop and administer effective
ones in ways that will inhibit bacterial resistance, and do our part in spreading the word and
bringing about the changes we need, that we will be able to beat bacteria and save our future.

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Works Cited
Collins, Francis. We Need Better DrugsNow. TED. Apr. 2012. Web. 27 Jul. 2015
McKenna, Maryn. What Do We Do When Antibiotics Dont Work Anymore? TED. Mar. 2015.
Web. 18 Jul. 2015
Mullis, Kary. A Next-Gen Cure for Killer Infections. TED. Feb. 2009. Web. 27 Jul. 2015.
Palmer, Lucy B., and Gerald C. Smaldone. "Reduction of Bacterial Resistance with Inhaled
Antibiotics in the Intensive Care Unit." American Journal of Respiratory and Critical
Care Medicine 189.10 (2014): 1225-1233. PDF file.