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Friday, March 30, 2018

Increasingly more bacteria resistant to antibiotics

Por Nina

There is no doubt that the discovery of antibiotics has literally revolutionized the history of medicine. Until 70-80 years ago, even a modest wound was enough to cause the death of a strong and robust man if it became infected. However, the progress made with the discovery of these drugs could be frustrated by the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance.

The scientific community is closely following a disturbing phenomenon: the emergence of new bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Scientists from all over the world have gathered at the prestigious Pasteur Institute in Paris to share the search for new solutions to stop the proliferation of these "super-bacteria".

Every day in the cellars of the prestigious Pasteur Medical Institute in Paris, the best scientists in the world receive samples of bacteria with a particular characteristic: they survive antibiotics. These bacteria are subjected to rigorous genetic studies to understand how they became resistant.

According to figures from the so-called GLASS program of the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 700,000 people die each year from antibiotic-resistant superbugs. The specialists have come to the conclusion that the number of mutant bacteria is increasing.

Due to genetic mutations, some strains of these microscopic organisms end up being stronger than the medicines. Crossing with other organisms, certain bacteria acquire for example the genetic material that makes them stronger.

"We find bacteria that resist almost everything," says Dr. Rafael Patiño Navarrete, a specialist in antibiotic resistance at the Pasteur Institute in Paris.

"When antibiotics were introduced, even Dr. Flemming, who discovered the first antibiotic, penicillin, postulated that the resistance would probably appear." It did not take long since penicillin was introduced until the resistant bacteria appeared in the 1950s. , remembers Patiño.

Although this phenomenon is one of the laws of nature, "at the moment in which we exert a pressure on the bacteria, they evolve", says the specialist, the proliferation of these resistances is also due to the excessive and sometimes unjustified consumption of antibiotics.

"It is true that for a long time, and around the world, antibiotics have been abused a little bit, not only in health but also in livestock farms," adds the Pasteur Institute researcher.

In its monitoring of mutant bacteria, the World Health Organization has found that there are two types of bacteria that frequently develop resistance to antibiotics: the bacteria of the intestines Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

To prevent and control the spread of antibiotic resistance, WHO establishes three types of groups of people that can contribute. On the one hand, the general population can limit itself to taking antibiotics only when prescribed by a certified health professional, not requesting this type of medication if healthcare professionals say that they are not necessary and always follow the instructions of healthcare professionals regarding the use of antibiotics.