The Role of Antibiotic Misuse in Bacterial Resistance, and Why I Should Care

It was 1969 when then Surgeon General William H. Stewart declared that it was "time to close the book on infectious disease." The American medical community had witnessed the near eradication of smallpox, polio, and rheumatic fever, and the future offered the prospect of once deadly infectious diseases being rendered harmless. Unfortunately, the use of the very antibiotics that were intended protect us, in combination with the bacteria's high rate of mutation, may paint a much different picture for the future. As William McNeill, historian and author of Plagues and Peoples, put it:

ability to acquire the genetic information of other organisms. Plasmid DNA is one key feature in bacteria's development of antibiotic immunity, because they can be exchanged between different types of bacteria. In doing so, bacteria can distribute their antibiotic resistant plasmids to other bacteria calls. These characteristics along with their motility allow bacteria to function independently of other cells. A virus on the other hand has far fewer components. A virus incorporates only a protein coat and its DNA or RNA. The virus does not have the ability to reproduce independently of a host cell possessing the necessary components for replication. This fact makes the virus dependent upon a host cell for reproduction. In a host the virus incorporates its DNA into the nucleus and stimulates the cell to perform the processes of translation necessary for it to proliferate within the organism.

ind that the more we win, the more we drive infections to the margins of human experience, the more we clear a path for possible catastrophic infection....We are caught in the food chain, whether we like it or not..."

Less than one hundred years ago, bacterial infections that today are merely inconveniences were considered deadly and incurable. Before the advent of effective treatments, bacteria were capable of holding human populations captive for incredible lengths of time.

together to confront the inherent problems of antibiotic misuse. As William McNeill put it, we have driven these bacteria to the "edge of human existence," and now we must take measures to lessen the chance that they come charging back stronger than before, to regain their elevated position in the "food chain."

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1617
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)