The Growing Threat of Antibiotic Resistance: A Public Health Crisis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62051/p5cqn866Keywords:
antibiotic resistance, hygiene, medication, environmental contamination, agriculture, indiscriminate use of antibiotics in food-producing animals.Abstract
Antibiotic resistance is a mounting worldwide health crisis that undermines the very foundations of modern medicine. During these practices, prescription and overprescription of antibiotics in healthcare, noncompliance with the therapy by the patient, mass usage in agriculture, environmental pollution, and the contemporary increment of international travel contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance. It explores how infectious diseases—particularly in the developing world—share the blame through mismanagement and ailing health systems. The misuse of antibiotics to treat viral infections, particularly during events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to an increase in resistance. The paper emphasizes strategies to combat this increasingly urgent risk: implementing antimicrobial stewardship programs, reforming antibiotic use in agriculture, investing in establishing new drugs and vaccines, improving global surveillance, and educating the public. These comprehensive solutions—grounded in a One Health perspective—are critically and urgently needed to curb resistance, protect current treatments, and preserve global health security against newly emerging bacterial challenges.
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