From the past several years antibiotics played a crucial role in the fight against many diseases and infections.As the use of antibiotics become more widespread,the prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria increased.
Super bugs are germs or pathogens that are resistant to antibiotics.In other words super bugs can survive even though if it is exposed with an antibiotic.Wide spread use of antibiotics played a significant role in the emergence of super bugs (antibiotic misuse creates antibiotic resistant strains).In some countries antibiotics are sold 'over the counter'with out prescription,which also leads to the devolepment of resistant strains.
A spontaneous or induced mutation in bacteria may confer the resistance to antibiotics.These resistance can be transferred between the bacterium by conjugation,transformation and transduction.Many antibiotic resistance gene reside on plasmids,facilitating the transfer.If a bacterium carries several resistance genes it is called multi drug resistant (MDR) or super bugs or super bacterium. Antibiotic resistant super bugs are spreading quickly all over the world in no time, so life threatening bacterial infections will drastically increase over the next 10 years.
Mechanism of Antibiotic resistance
Antibiotic resistance can be achieved by either chemical modification of an antibiotic or alternatively render it inactive through physical removal from the cell,or through modification of the target site.The most common mode is the enzymatic inactivation of the antibiotics.Ex: Betalactamse enzymes on betalactum antibiotics.
Bacterial super bugs that have become resistant to different antibiotics are presenting an increasing challenge to the word of health care,and will be one of the leading health problems of this century.The associated problems of super bug infection often lead to longer illnesses,extended hospital stays and some times causes of death.
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