Yet, just as the world has been getting used to being able to treat bacterial infections and diseases, the bacteria causing them have evolved to evade our antimicrobial drugs through a process of Darwinian natural selection. Because of our over-reliance on antibiotics in medical treatment, food production, preventatives, and cures, we are eliminating the sensitive bacterial strains that are susceptible to treatment, leaving behind more resistant strains that are not treated effectively by many of our antibiotic treatments.
Using the right antibiotics for a specific infection, and using them only when we need to, is thought to be one of the best things we can do to slow the process of bacteria evolving resistance and to preserve the antibiotics we do have.
As a result, we are now on course for a future where antibiotic-resistant infections represent a major cause of infection and death. Antibiotic-resistant infections already cause 1.2 million deaths annually, and this is currently increasing. The World Health Organization has named antimicrobial resistance a Global Health Emergency and one of the biggest threats to global public health.
Using the right antibiotics for a specific infection, and using them only when we need to, is thought to be one of the best things we can do to slow the process of bacteria evolving resistance and to preserve the antibiotics we do have. That’s because the use of antibiotics when a bacterial infection isn’t present or using the wrong antibiotic for a situation can accelerate the bacteria’s process of developing resistance.
This test will:
help stop the use of antibiotics in cases of viral or other non-bacterial infections
ensure the most effective antibiotic is prescribed the first time a patient is seen
identify antibiotic-resistant infections early, to get patients the treatment they need and reduce transmission
All of this would improve global antimicrobial stewardship and help maintain our ability to tackle bacterial infections for future generations.