A new report released by the World Health Organization might have people ready to crawl into a hole. The report has released information that some common infectious diseases such as gonorrhea or pneumonia are becoming resistant to antibiotics.
The newly-released document finds that in every region of the world, the growing rate of antimicrobial and antibiotic resistance is a serious threat to human health. Minor infections that were once considered beaten could kill again, and lengthier stays in hospitals and higher healthcare costs are a near-guarantee.
The report states that we no longer have to wait to live in a world where antibiotic resistance routinely fails, because we’re already there and heading in a “post-antibiotic era,” according to Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO’s assistant director-general for health security. Serious, potentially fatal diseases including diarrhea, blood infections (sepsis), pneumonia, and urinary tract infections and gonorrhea are all becoming resistance to antibiotics, even the “last resort” antibiotics used when all else fails.
What’s to blame for this?
The overuse and misuse of antibiotics are to blame, including instances where people don’t finish a course of treatment, allowing germs to linger – which can be worse than never taking the antibiotics at all.
Reports of resistance to UTI medicine are particularly alarming because it has happened so quickly. When UTI medicine was first introduced in the 1980s, resistance to them was “virtually zero”; now, there are parts of the world where treatment is basically ineffective, the WHO said. When more than 1 million peopleare infected with gonorrhea everyday, that treatment for the disease has failed for more than half of patients in several countries in recent years, including Canada, France, and the U.K.
What can we do?
To tackle resistance, WHO suggests taking antibiotics only when prescribed, taking them for the full course prescribed, and not sharing antibiotics or using leftover prescriptions. But staying inside and avoiding all human contact forever is also another option to consider.