Antimicrobial Resistance in our Environment

Chloe Kim
2 days ago
2 min read

What is Antimicrobial Resistance?

Antimicrobials is a broad term that can include antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, and antiparasitics- all medicines used to treat and prevent infectious diseases in humans, animals, and plants. However, in the case of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), the bacterias, viruses, fungi, and parasites which cause harmful diseases no longer respond to antimicrobial medicines. Hence, making the treatment process for diseases more difficult and prolonged. Ultimately, it can be seen that these germs evolve to resist and defeat the medicine originally designed to kill them.

Causes

There is a wide range of causes of antimicrobial resistance. Some of the most common ones are:

Overuse and misuse of antimicrobials --> Prescriptions including antibiotics for viral infections (ineffective), consuming antibiotics for too short/long periods of time, applying antibacterials to crops when not necessary.
Incomplete or incorrect treatment --> Not finishing the prescribed course of antibiotics/medicine and taking them irregularly. This allows bacteria to grow resistance and survive to worsen and prolong the infection.
Inadequate infection control --> Poor hygiene practices from individuals or surrounding environment, limited access to clean water and supplies.
Weakened immune systems --> Individuals with weak immune systems, such as current patients of HIV, cancer, or recent organ transplants, are more vulnerable to getting infected and may need additional medical care to treat their infection fully.

Connection to the Environment

Antimicrobial resistance does not only cause issues in the human body system, but also to our surrounding environment. If AMR is detected in soils and crops, that eventually affects our food and water that we end up consuming and entering our body system. This can be caused by the misuse or overuse of antibiotics in agriculture or improper disposal of antibiotics after use.

The Global Concern

The rising concern of antimicrobial resistance has made its way to one of the top global public health threats with an estimated number of 1.27 million global deaths in 2019. Not only has AMR taken a negative impact on humans, but also our environment including animals, plants, soil, and overall food security.

Ongoing Solutions

With the up and rising consequences of AMR, many scientists and organizations have it as their goal to create alternate treatments for microbial diseases. For example, a new treatment possibility incorporating phages is emerging into clinics and hospitals. Although it is still under testing, it has seen several positive outcomes. Another project to highlight is the PARE Project hosted by Tufts University. This project allows people from all over the nation to participate in sampling soil and testing it for antibiotic resistance with a testing kit in a lab.

Works Cited

Assessed and Endorsed by the MedReport Medical Review Board