Fears Grow Over Increased Antibiotic Resistance

Many antibiotics kill bacteria indiscriminately, including those causing disease and those that aid with digestion or immunity. Overuse of the drugs in health care and farm animals has increased antibiotic resistance and could contribute to thousands of deaths each year among patients having colorectal surgery, chemotherapy or hip replacements. Researchers have found that “as many as half of all bacteria that cause infections after surgery are resistant to antibiotics in the US,” reports the BBC News. The lead researcher suggests that such resistance is “squeezing the value out of modern medicine." The most vulnerable are cancer patients as well as newborns in the developing world and the elderly in the developed nations. UK researchers have not found evidence of antibiotic resistance disrupting routine surgeries, though the article suggests that about half of all prescriptions may be inappropriate. – YaleGlobal