Antibiotic Overuse

The use of antibiotics in livestock has definitely helped in the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria, but there are other reasons why this resistance is happening at an accelerated rate. One reason in particular is the overuse of antibiotics by patients. “Experts say chances of resistance increase when antibiotics are not used long enough or are taken for the wrong reasons, allowing bacteria to survive and adapt. The Centers for Disease control and Prevention is tracking at least 20 strains of resistant bacteria.” This was taken from a great article at usatoday.com; in this article there are reasons to believe that the misuse and overuse of antibiotics is leading to resistant bacteria. “Doctors and other health care providers prescribed 258 million courses of antibiotics in 2010, for a population just shy of 309 million, the researchers found. That translates to 833 antibiotic prescriptions for every 1,000 people, on average”. Read more about the misuse and overuse of antibiotics here.

                  

                

                                                                                

Below are some reasons why people think they need antibiotics but antibiotics can’t be used to cure viruses as shown in the diagram below. Making the distinction between a virus and bacteria and using the antibiotics in the right way can help to slow down the growth of antibiotic resistant bacteria.