More Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria

A new report suggests that antibiotic resistant bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumoniae are increasing at an alarming rate in the United States, according to an article recently published by Yahoo News.

The article states that inappropriate use of antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections continues to be, “the single most important driver” of resistance despite increased awareness of the problem among physicians. It is doubtful that there is a physician on the planet that is not aware of these growing antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria, yet they continue to prescribe ineffective drugs and potentially life-threatening drugs.

According to the article, the public, particularly the parents of young children, need to be educated about antibiotics. Once again we see an article that suggests there is good data that patient expectation drives a great deal of antibiotic usage in the community. Parents are often not happy until their little boy or little girl gets an antibiotic, suggest the authors of the report.

Again, let’s ask the question… is this the parents fault? Parents are taught through television and through advertising that drugs will solve the problem. If doctors do not share the truth, that drugs will not likely solve the problem, and that they may very well make the problem worse, who’s fault is that? If parents knew what every physician probably already knows, perhaps they wouldn’t be requesting antibiotics.

If, as a nation, we continue to prescribe drugs without any education whatsoever as to what the effects of those drugs may be, we cannot expect to have any different results than what we currently have today.

Yahoo News: More And More Strep Infections Resistant to Drugs