Resistant super bugs threaten world: Canada researcher

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Ont. (AA) – Patients are dying from previously treatable infections because the misuse of antibiotics has caused many bacteria to develop immunity to drugs, a researcher at Canada’s McMaster University said Monday.

Lori Burrows made the comments to CTV television news, remarking on the World Health Organization (WHO) release of a report on the globe’s 12 most dangerous super bugs that are a threat to human life.

It is the first list of its kind, called “priority pathogens” that are creating havoc for doctors as they try various antibiotics to fight hospital infections, reported the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

Bacteria become resistant to drugs when patients do not take them for the recommended duration to completely eradicate the infection, allowing bacteria to multiply, CTV reported.

Another contributor is that they are incorrectly prescribed for viral infections that cannot be cured with antibiotics.

Burrows said doctors are using antibiotics less frequently to help prevent bugs from developing immunity, but that hurts the profits of drug companies so pharmaceuticals are reluctant to invest in research for new antibiotics.

“They [drug companies] have shareholders and they want to make some money, so you can’t blame them for that,” Burrows told CTV. “But it’s left us in a position where we’re now running out of drugs.”

Predictions are that without effective antibiotics, health care could suffer substantially worldwide in many areas, including cancer chemotherapy, cesarean section births and organ transplants.

The situation is already affecting what used to be routine surgeries.

“The declining efficacy of existing antibiotics jeopardizes outcomes in patients undergoing medical procedures,” the medical journal Lancet reported in December 2015.

With the release of the “priority pathogens” report, WHO officials said they are not trying to cause a scare but are hoping to encourage governments and companies to do more research and development into new antibiotics.

“Antibiotic resistance is growing, and we are fast running out of treatment options,” said the WHO’s Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny. “We are asking governments to commit funds to address antibiotic resistance now, in order to reduce the amount of resources that they will need to spend later when resistance to antibiotics develops into an even bigger crisis.”