Common Bacterial Infection: MRSA

Many of the bacteria that cause common bacterial infection are mutating and therefore gaining resistance. This means that the original antibiotics that were once used to treat these common illnesses are becoming increasing ineffective. This resistance delays treatment as the original antibiotics are ineffective. This can lead to the disease worsening and even death. This means that common illnesses that were once easily treated by antibiotics are no longer so easy to treat. This results in increased care for these patients, need for stronger and more expensive antibiotics which can cause serious side effects.
MRSA:
MRSA stands for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. MRSA is commonly described as a superbug because it is increasingly
difficult to treat with common antibiotics because it has gained resistance. The Staphylococcus is a common type of bacteria that we carry on our skin. It is only when the bacteria can break through the skin i.e. through a cut the it can cause life threatening infections. MRSA is difficult to treat because it is resistant to many commonly used antibiotics such as penicillin and amoxicillin. MRSA is still treatable with antibiotics that is has not yet developed resistance to. However, this can include a combination of antibiotics or stronger antibiotics. These can cause serious side effects. Without action, MRSA, will continue to gain resistance against the few antibiotics we can use to treat it. This means it could become a very serious threat to public health and increase mortality rates.

Mortality:
Antibiotic resistant bacterial strains are resulting in a huge increase of the mortality rates from bacterial infections. A study carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’ (CDC) discovered that 2 million people in the US now acquire antibiotic resistant infections each year and 23,000 of these people die. This is proof that antibiotic resistance is an increasingly dangerous epidemic.
Research carried out by the UK government led by Jim O’Neil stated that antibiotic resistance could lead to 10 million deaths globally per year by 2050. He also added that antibiotic resistance would be a bigger killer than cancer. Professor Dame Sally Davis, the government’s chief medical officer for England, explained that “At present around seven percent of deaths are due to infections. If we do not act, this could rise to forty percent – as it was before we had antibiotics.”
This means that currently, if we continue as we do, that by 2050 the world could enter a post-antibiotic time period with no effective antibiotic. This would essentially mean that there is no effective treatment for bacterial infection and so the mortality rate in conjunction with bacterial infections will rise.
Economic Impacts:

Who will this antibiotic resistance effect the most:
Antibiotic resistance will, eventually if remained unchallenged, by a major risk to the whole population. However, currently those most at risk is those with compromised immune system which is worsened with antibiotic resistant bacterial infections. This includes:
Cancer Chemotherapy Patients:
These patients have a higher risk of developing infections due to a low white blood cells count. This is because white blood cells are crucial for the destruction of pathogens in primary immune responses. This tendency to contract infections means effective antibiotics are crucial to aid the immune system in fighting disease. However, because increasing numbers of antibiotics are proving ineffective against infections, these patients are at risk from contracting an illness that cannot be fought off with antibiotics and could possibly kill.
Complex Surgery Patients:
Patients having complex surgery such as a cardiac bypass are at risk of an infection at the site of surgery. Again, the infection would usually be treated with antibiotics easily but because of resistance this infection is causing additional illness, cost and can even lead to death.
Rheumatoid Arthritis:
Patients with inflammatory arthritis are prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs, these can weaken the immune system and so compromise its ability to fight off infections. This means there is a higher risk of contracting infections some of which may be resistant to antibiotics given.
End-stage Renal Disease Treated with Dialysis:
These patients have weakened immune systems and often require catheters of needles to carry out dialysis.
This means they have an increased chance of contracting a blood stream infection with may not be fought off with antibiotics, this is the second biggest killer of dialysis patients. This can lead to the heart disease worsening which is the biggest killer of dialysis patients.
Organ and Bone Marrow Transplant Recipients:
These patients receive immuno-suppressant drugs to reduce the chance of the immune system rejecting the transplant. This makes them more vulnerable to disease. It is also estimated that 1% of all organ transplanted in the US carry disease.
What can be done to prevent antibiotic resistance?
Everyone from doctors to patients to the government has a part to play in combating and beating the threat of antibiotic resistance.
Educating the public on the mechanism of antibiotics:
In surveys carried out by the Department of Health found out 32% percent of respondents incorrectly agreed that ‘Antibiotics work on most coughs and colds’ and 43% incorrectly agreed that ‘Antibiotics can kill viruses’. These statistics show that just under half of the public do not understand the mechanism of antibiotics and what they can and cannot kill. This means that
just