The Antibiotic Paradox How Miracle Drugs Are Destroying the Miracle

• Main Author: Levy, Stuart B. (Author)
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: New York Plenum Press 1992
• Subjects: Drug resistance in microorganisms; Antibiotics
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 The discovery of antibiotics heralded medicine's triumph over previously fatal diseases that once destroyed entire civilizations thus earning their reputation as miracle drugs. But today, the terrifying reality of antibiotic-resistant bacteria resulting from our widespread misuse of antibiotics forewarns us that the miracle may be coming to an end. The seemingly innocent consumer who demands antibiotics to treat nonbacterial diseases such as the common cold or plays doctor by saving old prescriptions for later use is paving the way for a future of antibiotic failure. ? What harm can it do ?? is a popular refrain of people worldwide as they pop another antibiotic pill. Stuart Levy - the leading international expert on hazards of antibiotics can have deadly consequences. He explains that we are presently witnessing a massive evolutionary change in bacteria. This build-up of new antibiotic-resistant bacteria in individuals and the environment worldwide is an insidious and silent process. Thus, unwittingly consumers encounter resistant bacteria in their meat, poultry, fish, and vegetables. Unregulated dispensing of antibiotics in poorer countries breeds countless more resistant strains. Since bacteria recognize no geographical boundaries, resistant forms can travel the globe. If this trend continues to grow unchecked, we may someday find that all of our antibiotics are obsolete. Today doctors can no longer expect that their first choice of antibiotic for women's urinary tract infections or children's ear infections will work.