Currently, healthcare professionals face a rather severe issue: various bacteria have already developed or are in the process of developing resistance to antibiotics. Precisely antimicrobial drugs allow medical workers to prevent and treat numerous infections that pose a danger to people. However, the latter’s irresponsible use of antibiotics is one of the reasons societies face the mentioned problem, and effective measures need to be introduced by healthcare professionals to address it.
An example of a bacteria that has developed antibiotic resistance is a Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). This pathogen is one of the most common and problematic bacteria types that causes numerous infectious diseases like fatal pneumonia, bacteremia, osteomyelitis, and infective endocarditis. In the 1940s, penicillin was discovered to address infections caused by Staphylococcus, but penicillin-resistant S. aureus appeared when people began to misuse this antibiotic, penicillin-resistant S. aureus appeared (Guo et al., 2020). Overall, the process of developing resistance is the following: “penicillin-resistant S. aureus can produce penicillinase, which can hydrolyze the penicillin β-lactam ring, leading to resistance to penicillin” (Guo et al., 2020, para. 1.2). Interestingly, healthcare professionals managed to address this issue by introducing a new antibiotic – methicillin. The problem is that, after two years, an MRSA strain isolation was reported. As noticed by researchers, “a gene encoding the penicillin-binding protein 2a or 2′ (PBP2a or PBP2′) (mecA)” produced the resistance (Guo et al., 2020, para. 1.2). Later, it was discovered that the resistance of MRSA strains was increasing, and it is now more challenging to treat people whose infections are caused by this pathogen.
Generally, there are some measures that healthcare providers can take to prevent drug resistance. First, educating patients about the consequences of misusing antibiotics is required. Second, proper hygiene must be maintained in the clinic setting. Further, the antibiotics control process should become more considerate and observed, with medics prescribing them carefully (National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, 2020). Then, it is essential for healthcare providers to recognize the misuse of antibiotics and address the cases. Finally, pharmacist need to sell drugs responsibly and always verify prescriptions.
References
Guo, Y., Song, G., Sun, M., Wang, J., & Wang, Y. (2020). Prevalence and therapies of antibiotic-resistance in Staphylococcus aureus. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 10(107).
National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. (2020). How to prevent antibiotic resistance. Web.