October 26, 2009

The cause of antibiotic resistance lies not only in misuse, but also in lack of proper sanitation and hygiene and the environment, according to a report by the American Academy of Microbiology.

The report states that resistance development is founded in the inevitability of microbial evolution, and responsibility is partly due to medical practice, including patient demand, industrial practices, politics, and antibiotics themselves.

Antibiotic resistance is currently uncontrollable and the reasons behind it are complex and mostly unknown. The colloquium consensus was that efforts must target both the bacterial transmission and antimicrobial use.

According to the Academy report, more research is needed now, bridging medical, chemical, and environmental disciplines.

The report said the main driving factor behind resistance may actually be a lack of adequate hygiene and sanitation, which enables rapid proliferation and spread of pathogens.

The report states that it is possible to co-exist with resistance by developing new strategies to prevent resistance from spreading and, where it already exists, identify the strains that needed protection from it, find new ways to treat resistance infections effectively and manage reservoirs of antibiotic strains in the environment.

The continuation of antibiotic use for human and animal diseases is at stake unless worldwide efforts are taken. Research for new antibiotics under new paradigms must consider what the functions of these molecules are in nature, how resistant populations relate to them, and where and how to find them, said the report.