The Fight Against Contagious Diseases and Various Other Forms of Infectious Microbes - Essay Example

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics- an example of evolutionary change al affiliation Bacterial resistance According toresearchers and analysts of the public health sector, antibiotics have posed a major challenge to the lives of many human beings. Over the decades, doctors have endeavored to cope with the fight against various kinds of diseases by investigating the types of bacteria and the harms they may cause to the lives of many individuals. According to Anderson (2005), antibiotics have aided a lot in the fight against contagious diseases and various other forms of infection microbes. With the advancement in science as well as technology, man has undertaken the initiative of looking for the best solution towards finding a curb to these microbes. Chemotherapies have been conducted in the quest to increase the life span of man through almost absolute destruction of the microbes. An alarming case is that these microbes have shown a resistance to some kinds of drugs that has led to many questions and worries on the possibility of man, ever living a harmless life. In the line of public health, microbial resistance has been a major cause of worry and investigation over the decades. Public health is on the verge of uncertainty as a result of new diseases coming up by the day and the existing ones becoming harder to deal with. Maladies like pneumonia, TB, ear and eye infections, gonorrhea are becoming headaches to many health practitioners. Wound infections are no exceptional as have also emerged to be one of the horrible nightmares of the ones who succumb to them. Basically, we may describe this as an evolution of the bacteria and their ability to withstand any form of conditions and activities so long as their survival and security is not jeopardized. On the other hand, another theme that has to be discussed is the continued use and mishandling of the drugs by the human beings, in quest to understand the behavior of bacteria. According to research done by Anderson (2005), over ninety million prescriptions to various forms of antibiotics were given to patients, by the late nineteen eighties. This data relates to the over consumption of the same antibiotics in the human beings, either through food or products that we may have used. This is because, even in the agricultural sector so many medicines are coming up and others being dispensed to the farmers for their use. In fact, the numbers of antibiotics that are being consumed in the agricultural sector are seemingly increasing as the years go by. Research has proven that majority of the infections that are existent in the lives of human beings today, result from the fact that these individuals may have used one or several antibiotics that caused harm to their bodies or did not perform whatsoever function at all. It has been noted with a lot of concern that the medicines used in the health facilities are no longer functional because moist people have developed bacterial resistances in the bodies, probably as a result of continued use of the drugs. According to Anderson (2005), it seems that the drugs commonly administered to individuals are among the drugs that the microbes have developed resistance to. Not aware of this fact, the health practitioners keep administering the same drugs to the patients. If only they had a glimpse of these resistances, they would have undertaken the measure of using more toxic drugs to the microbes thus securing the safety and health of the patient in question. Mortality rates and disease infections are increasing as a result of this fact. To rectify on the issue of resistance, it is the responsibility of the health practitioners to conduct a thorough investigation on the patients they are dealing with so as to prescribe the best drugs to offer to these patients. Lack of this crucial measure would mean that the patient would leave the hospital worse than they had come in. Though the process of continued microbial infections may be completely inescapable, people are advised to take responsibility of their lives bay monitoring what they eat and what they intake as medicine in times of problems. The issue of bacterial resistance may prove a bit tricky to work with but the doctors as well as the major beneficiaries, patients take care of the situation before it gets completely out of hand. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has proven to be a nightmare to many people. Anderson (2005) argues that this change in the bacteria may be termed as an evolutionary change that needs quick intervention. Resistance portrayed by these bacteria may be attributed to various factors ranging from their mutation ability or even the change in their genetic composition. Mutation occurs when an antibiotic that is administered removes the necessary proteins that may be responsible for protecting the body against infections. The proteins targeted may be the bacteria but the vice versa occurs. The bacterial enzymes may end up being too many in such a manner that the antibiotic administered may be totally nonfunctional to all the resultant bacteria. The bacterium may also modify the structure of the cell wall and the cell membrane in such a manner that the antibiotics administered cannot penetrate into the cell and conduct the roles they were supposed to. In this instance, the antibiotics may not be of any benefit to the patients. The body may also develop resistance to antibiotics when the bacteria gain resistance genes from another gene. According to Anderson (2005), this is termed as antibiotic gene resistance shift. This form of gene borrowing takes place over and over again in the patient’s a body, a factor that enables survival of these bacteria for a very long period of time whilst in the body. On the other hand, medical practitioners not aware of this fact end up giving medication that seems not work in favor of the patient and majority of the patients keeps returning to the hospitals for their medical conditions keep worsening by the day. The bacteria are indeed evolving by finding survival mechanisms in the lives of the human beings. Medical practitioners must take this as a challenge and find the best solutions towards saving the important human race. In order to get a clear picture on bacterial resistance to antibiotics as an example of evolutionary change, it is important to highlight the ways behind the spreading of this resistance. As doctors put it, ‘the more you take, the more your body becomes resistant’, it has now become an alarming issue. Bacteria are capable of moving from one host to another, thus transfer of the resistance. This movement may either be direct or indirect through the food we eat, contact with other individuals, either through handshakes, hugging, having unprotected sex, or between animals while breeding. For instance, the functioning of antibiotics in pesticides and herbicides may be affected as a result of resistance by the hosts. The bacteria combine forces to form a family of resistance to any form of antibiotics that may be resultant from them. Some may be destroying but the few remnants have the ability to multiply and form a new family. Antibiotics are also responsible for the creation of new resistances to bacteria that were previously harmless once administered in the human body. The immune system of the patient becomes totally weak to such antibiotics upon later prescription. In this way the bacteria are in a position to multiply and form a union in the body towards the administration of bacteria to them. The body also risks the likelihood of this form of resistance being transferred to another bacterium in the body of the patient. In short, human beings have contributed a great mile towards the resistance of bacteria in the body. Continued use of antibiotic for just minute pain that is felt in our bodies has resulted to this fact. Infections will continue being transmitted from one person to another, while the ones beings affected end up looking for more antibiotics to cure the infection, another cycle of non-resistance is therefore, created in the lives of individuals. The rates of dosage prescription have to reduce, with people looking for other alternatives to cure their infections with no harmful side effects. Finally, to shed more light on the issue on an evolution of bacteria, it is important to find out why this issue has become a global concern; almost everyone is taking about this issue, on radio, magazines, televisions amongst other sources. One major reason to its concern is that the developed resistance may lead to deaths of the patients. If a patient seeks medication and none seems to work best for them, then they are bound to live at the mercy of God’s protection. Majority of the people end up dying, as a result, of the bacterial evolutionary change that has continually kept manifesting new dispositions. The resistance to drugs poses a major challenge on the attainment of goals and objectives of the countries they represent as well as the global goals of development. If majority of the people’s lives, especially the youth, are claimed through deaths, then it means that there is no one left to provide labor necessary for the growth and development of the nation. The lifespan of people is being reduced on a very high rate leaving behind the question of where the future of nations is headed. In conclusion, the bacterial evolutionary change is a topic that needs a lot of research and insight. If this is not done on a hasty note, the health security, probability of trade expansion and other economies will be put on a high risk. The human race is extremely important; it for that reason needs proper and complete safety. References Anderson, K. (2005). Is bacterial resistance to antibiotics an appropriate example of evolutionary change? Creation Research Society Quarterly 41(4):318–326, 2005. Read More