What Is the Post-Antibiotic Era?

We have all heard of the Pre-Antibiotic Era, prior to the 1940’s when millions of people died from common bacterial infections because antibiotics were not used to treat them. In the last 50 years we have enjoyed the luxury of knowing that bacterial infections can almost always be cured by using antibiotics. We are now in the Antibiotic Era.

As we enter the 21^st Century, we are gradually slipping into the Post-Antibiotic Era, a time when antibiotics no longer work because bacteria have become resistant to all the antibiotics. The change will not come as suddenly as the start of the Antibiotic Era, because the change to antibiotic resistant germs has been slow, up until now. In the next 5-10 years we will start noticing the change much more dramatically. We will start to see friends, relatives and even close family members dying from simple infections that used to be cured with antibiotics. Pneumonia, ear infections, and strep throat.

Most doctors believe that the coming of the Post-Antibiotic Era is inevitable, so they don’t try to do anything to stop it. However, we have seen entire countries turn back the process of bacterial resistance, simply by using antibiotics wisely. In Iceland, the percentage of resistant pneumococcus (causes ear infections, pneumonia, sinusitis and meningitis) actually dropped from 25% to 15% in 5 years, after doctors stopped using penicillin to treat colds and other virus infections. (Antibiotics don’t work for virus infections anyway.) This is REALLY IMPORTANT, because it shows that bacterial resistance is NOT inevitable, and probably would stabilize at a low level if antibiotics were used only when there is a valid reason.

Bacterial resistance CAN be reversed!

In the U.S., doctors continue to use antibiotics 10 to 20 times more often than they are actually needed. There are many reasons for this (see also Health-bytes: Why Antibiotics Don’t Work Any More). For example, sore throats are mostly caused by virus infections which are not helped in any way by using antibiotics. The only indication for using an antibiotic for a throat infection is to treat Streptococcus pyogenes (or "strep" germs). Most doctors test for strep with a throat swab, and it is positive only 5-10% of the time. Amazingly, doctors still use antibiotics, even if the strep test is negative!

Other examples, include treating virus infections such as colds, coughs, bronchitis, sinusitis (see Health-bytes: Sinusitis), and croup with antibiotics which only work on bacteria infections. Millions of Americans are treated with antibiotics for colds every year, when not one of them has been helped by it, and the result is hurling the whole country into the Post-Antibiotic Era.

An important reason that doctors over-prescribe is that they have the perception that their patients expect and demand to be treated with antibiotics. Most doctors these days run their practices like a business, striving for "customer satisfaction". They will try to keep the customers happy, even if it is to their detriment. Patients must become involved now, and start to demand appropriate treatments for their virus infections, and demand that doctors stop using antibiotics inappropriately.

Unfortunatley, doctors will continue to treat their other (less informed) patients with useless antibiotics. This is where the strategy gets tricky. How can we get the word out to the other patients? Even a cover article in the major news magazines (the Super-Bug article) seems to have had no effect on the public. I don’t know if it is that most people don’t understand the concept of bacterial resistance, or if the articles weren’t written understandably, or if most people just don’t read stuff that sounds like "science".

Patients need to question their doctor's treatments.

I think a major reason for public ignorance is the common perception of people who say "What a shame this is happening, but MY doctor doesn’t do it." Please take a critical look at what your doctor IS doing, and read Health-bytes about appropriate treatments for colds, sinusitis, bronchitis and strep throat. Maybe your doctor is using antibiotics inappropriately at times, and needs a reminder from the patients. Please do not be afraid to question your doctor's treatments. The more we question our doctors, the more they will question whether they are doing the right thing!

All I can recommend is that you at least tell all your friends about it, and get THEM to look at Health-bytes to get more info about this crucial problem. Also e-mail the Health-bytes address (www.Health-bytes.com) to all your e-mail contacts.