Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, multiple investigations have proved that antibiotics are decreasing their ultimate power over many diseases. The problem is caused by different bacteria developing resistance to antibiotics at an extremely fast pace. Additionally, medical companies abandon antibiotic research due to low profit. I believe that a global action plan is needed to step beyond the traditional treating approach and prevent a global medical catastrophe.
The signals of bacteria being likely to develop resistance were seen even during the earliest tests of antibiotic drugs. Today, the issue has grown to a degree when bacteria can become resistant in one year, and a person’s life will be in danger again. The major factor contributing to antibiotic resistance is the limited number of substances known and approved in medicine. Basically, with every epidemic, the quantity of working drugs reduces, and there are not enough actions to discover new ones. Many companies found it non-profitable to hold antibiotic research and abandoned them, not realizing that it puts a threat on the whole world population. I believe those actions are irresponsible and companies attitude needs to change.
Regarding the strategies for the future development of antibiotics, it is clear that the traditional approach is not practical anymore. Unless more pharmaceutical companies reestablish their antibiotic research, the prices for new drugs will increase drastically and make the treatment very difficult to access. Also, there is a trend for using antibiotics in non-medical fields like agriculture. I believe it should be stopped since constant exposure to antibiotics makes bacteria resistant very fast. Presumably, if an international committee will be created to monitor all the antibiotic practice and research, a solution can be found soon.
Ultimately, bacterial resistance presents a severe threat to our society, and I am glad that media attention is brought to it. Although the future of existing antibiotics seems inevitable, there are ways to solve this problem with global effort. Medical companies need to raise concerns about new antibiotic resistance and invest more in research, and the use of antibiotics beyond medicine should be limited and strictly controlled. I insist on taking immediate action to prevent global epidemics in the near future.