Discovered penicilin in 1928 by Alexander Fleming and it was purified firstly in 1939 by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain, it gave to human beings an important advantage in the fight against diseases and caused us to step into the age of antibiotics. In late 1940, penicillin became the main drug in many diseases including syphilis, pneumonia, meningitis, and its use in the Second World War in America reached very serious levels.
Since the first discovery of penicillin, the use of antibiotics has increased every year due to the important advantages it provides us. So much so that; While it should actually be used in the treatment of diseases, the subject deviated from its purpose and started to be used for rapid production in both commercial and food sectors. Antibiotic use, which goes beyond its purpose, has brought with it a serious problem. Due to overuse, bacteria have also begun to develop resistance to antibiotics, leading to a vicious cycle. In the image below, there is information about the antibiotics used and when the bacteria started developing resistance to these antibiotics. Many antibiotics can be added to the list.
If we continue on the subject through concrete examples; some statistical information will guide us at this point.
- 80% of the antibiotics used in the USA are not used in the treatment of human diseases, but in the livestock sector produced for food purposes. In fact, this situation is to support the increase in production capacity in the livestock sector. The use of antibiotics in animal husbandry dates back to 1940 (right after the discovery of penicillin), and this application for industrial purposes has been accelerated by the introduction of poultry as an additive.
The main purpose here is to make antibiotics grow faster by changing the bacterial flora in the animals’ intestines. If we are to gather the purposes of use under 4 groups;
- Reducing the natural bacterial flora of animals by means of antibiotics, enabling fewer bacteria to receive less energy from animals and causing more weight gain,
- Preventing animals from getting sick because of massively animal husbandry in industrial farms (antibiotics resistant bacteria appear at this stage because bacteria exchange genes between themselves by both feces and other factors)
- Limiting the growth-inhibiting toxins in the intestinal flora,
- To increase the absorption of vitamins and similar factors that will positively affect growth,
Antibiotics are used for this purpose not only in America, but also in other countries of the world. Although it seems like a good way to limit unnecessary antibiotic consumption in humans, the main danger is the use in the livestock sector. However; The demand for livestock products is expected to double in 2050. If there is no alternative solution to the antibiotic, the vicious circle between antibiotic discovery and bacteria resistance will continue due to the ever increasing trend of use, and the system will be blocked in one place. Apart from animal husbandry sector, antibiotics are frequently used in fruit growing areas, especially in Asian countries.
According to a project carried out by the UK, it is estimated that 700,000 people die annually by bacteria developing antibiotic resistance, and by 2050 it is estimated that this number will increase to 10 million. Another example on this subject is; 67 years old patient who had surgery in England in 2009 was exposed to infection. No antibiotic used during that period responded to treatment (pan-resistant bacteria) and the patient died after 14 days. Bacteria that are resistant to many antibiotics are detected in different parts of the world like this. Even if their numbers are low for now, it gives us important clues about the situation that humankind will face in the coming period.
In an article published in National Georgraphic in 2015, the number of antibiotics approved by the FDA from 1983 to 2004 is shown every 5 years. This downtrend indicates that it is becoming more difficult to make new antibiotics. Of course, it should not be forgotten the increasing costs during these researches.
Source link: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2015/05/23/oneill-amr-3/
Since the subject is so serious, studies on many methods are also continuing. One of them is artificial intelligence technology. By using historical data on this subject, evolutionary processes in resistance development of bacteria are predicted and alternative compounds are tried to be created. But the question is, how long will this vicious circle continue? Otherwise, both livestock sector and human health will be in serious danger and more resistant bacteria will begin to emerge due to unconscious use of antibiotics.
OECD reports, which were made in 2015, showed that Turkey, between Eurozone countries, in way of the use of antibiotics per 1000 persons (38.18 DDD-Designated Defined Daily Doses Daily Dose) was the leader. Compared to current time, we can claim that we are one of the first countries where the negative effects of this situation will begin to be seen.
Although it is difficult to stop this trend completely recently, it is possible to slow down this process with at least some applications.
- Improving the industry and health institutions and personal hygiene standards, including the livestock industry,
- Reducing the number of prescribed antibiotics,
- Developing rapid diagnosis methods to distinguish viral infections from bacterial origin,
- Raising awareness of doctors and the public through various campaigns,
As mentioned above, the vast majority of antibiotic use comes from the foodborne livestock industry. With the spreading of being fed on plant based, it is possible to significantly reduce the amount of antibiotics used, dependent on increase in livestock sector, but in this case, it should be carefully investigated what their use during the production of vegetable foods.
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