Microbes: Breaking The Mould

Microbes will always triumph over antibiotics. We can only choose the battles that will make a difference

- Rakesh K Alshian

AS A species, we have evolved into killing machines extraordinaire. For us, killing is not just a matter of self-preservation, an instinct shared by all creatures that defend themselves with whatever weapons nature has blessed them with—poison, horns, incisors or claws. Armed with a supernatural arsenal, we now don’t merely disable or kill; we aim to annihilate, be it termites, weeds, mosquitoes, cancer cells, or, going by Trump’s “fire and fury” bluster, even fellow human beings.

Antibiotics are part of that arsenal and were designed to annihilate bad bacteria. Whenever we fall sick, doctors order them as a matter of routine. We are duly advised to complete the course, which usually lasts in multiples of five to seven days, lest some bacteria survive the attack, and mutate, thereby becoming immune to the drug. Not sticking to this dogma, according to the medical establishment, is one of the reasons behind the crisis of antibiotic resistance.

Intriguingly, it now turns out that this widely-held dogma has no scientific basis. In a recent edition of the British Medical Journal, medical researchers at Brighton and Sussex medical school claim that “the idea that stopping antibiotic treatment early encourages antibiotic resistance is not supported by evidence, while taking antibiotics for longer than necessary increases the risk of resistance.” The heretics believe we are better off opting out the moment we feel better.

This heresy does have some backers, but not yet large enough to inspire a paradigm shift and make doctors change tack. Meanwhile, the crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to spiral from grave to critical. According to The Review on Antimicrobial Resistance commissioned by the UK government, by 2050, every year, AMR is likely to claim 317,000 lives in North America, 390,000 in Europe and over 4 million in Asia and Africa.