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People are currently trying to avoid medication and to use it only when it is absolutely necessary. Sometimes, however, you cannot avoid illness, and when it develops into something more serious, you go to the doctor to have antibiotics prescribed.
However, some people consume antibiotics much more often. Sometimes because they are frequently ill and sometimes because doctors prescribe them so often in the first place. As the portal IFL Science reports, according to the latest research resistance has appeared in many parts of Europe to antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections associated with common stomach problems. According to scientists, resistance to these antibiotics has even more than doubled over the last two decades.
PEOPLE ARE MORE RESISTANT
According to findings presented in Barcelona at the European Week of Gastroenterology this year, resistance to antibiotics commonly used to treat helicobacter pylori infections has been increasing in recent years; this bacterium is associated with stomach ulcers, lymphomas and stomach cancer. In a survey of more than 1,200 people from 18 European countries it was found that resistance to the agents used to treat this infection rose from 9.9% in 1998 to 21.6% in 2018.
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE DIE EACH YEAR
Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria begin to develop tolerance to pharmaceutical drugs intended to treat them. In recent years antibiotic resistance has become a problem worldwide and is attracting the attention of world leaders, including the World Health Organization (WHO), which is calling for strategic efforts to fight this threat to health security. In the European Union and the United States 56,000 people die each year as a result of bacterial infection and antibiotic resistance.
INCREASED RISK OF CANCER
According to the Mayo Clinic, it is likely that more than half of the world’s population is infected with this bacterium, but nothing serious may happen until ulcers develop. Researcher Francis Megraud stated that the reduced effectiveness of current treatment regimens could cause a high incidence of stomach cancer and other conditions. However, high antibiotic resistance is often also attributed to their excessive use for common illnesses such as the common cold or the flu. Mario Dinis-Ribeiro says that increased resistance can jeopardize preventive strategies in the treatment of helicobacter pylori.
Although many people want their common illnesses, such as a cold or the flu, to pass immediately and turn to antibiotics to speed up the whole treatment process, the truth is that you should avoid this and take them only when it is necessary. Otherwise, antibiotics may not work at the moment when you need them most.
Source: Interez
