28Feb 2015

Drug resistance an international issue

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The successful exploit of every therapeutic agent is compromised by the possible development of tolerance or resistance to that compound from the moment it is first employed. Microbial drug resistance has created havoc throughout the world from the last several years. It has become a grand issue that has not been confined to the hospital settings only but has put its devastating effects in community also. Among the microorganisms bacteria has developed tremendous potential for drug resistance during recent years. The development of drug resistance to maximum newly invented antibiotics has challenged the clinicians to treat the various disastrous bacterial infections which have caused great morbidity and mortality throughout the globe. Such types of infections are not only brutal and require longer and more complex treatments, but they are extensively more expensive to diagnose and treat. The molecular mechanisms which are responsible for drug resistance in bacteria are varied and more complicated. The most frequent mechanism is the conjugation by plasmid, which transfers the resistant genes from one bacterium to other thus, makes them resistant. New mechanisms of resistances have also been reported that has given rise to the multidrug resistant (MDR) strains. The haphazard and inappropriate use of antibiotics in outpatient clinics, hospitalized patients and in the community settings is the sole largest factor leading to antibiotic resistance. Various pharmaceutical industries, large academic institutions or the government are not investing the compulsory possessions to manufacture the next generation of newer safe and effective antimicrobial drugs. In several cases, huge pharmaceutical companies have ended their anti-infective research programs on the whole due to economic losses. All these factors are somehow responsible for giving rise to the MDR bacterial strains, thus putting the society at risk for the spread of harmful and serious infections.


[Javid Ahmad Bhat, Shamweel Ahmad (2015); Drug resistance an international issue Int. J. of Adv. Res. 3 (Feb). 0] (ISSN 2320-5407). www.journalijar.com


Dr. Javid Ahmad Bhat