Question

Penicillin once was considered a miracle drug that would permanently eradicate tuberculosis and many other bacterially caused diseases. Today, we encounter resistance to this and many other antibiotics in numerous bacterial species. What could we have done differently to slow the evolution of penicillin resistance?

Answer 1

To slow the evolution of penicillin resistance, avoiding the overprescription of antibiotics, ensuring patients complete their treatment courses, controlling antibiotic use in agriculture, and investing in research and vaccines could have been key measures taken.

Step-by-step explanation:

To slow the evolution of penicillin resistance, we could have taken several measures. Firstly, the overprescription of antibiotics should have been avoided. Antibiotics were often prescribed for viral infections, against which they have no effect, which unnecessarily increased the exposure of bacteria to the drugs. Secondly, patients should have been educated on the necessity of completing their full course of antibiotic treatment. As highlighted in the hypothetical study, patients who discontinued treatment once symptoms were relieved, but before the course was complete, contributed to a higher incidence of recurrent tuberculosis infection because the surviving bacteria were the most resistant ones.

Furthermore, there should have been stricter controls on the use of antibiotics in agriculture, as this is another source of widespread antibiotic resistance. Development of bacteria resistant to antibiotics like penicillin, cephalosporins, and vancomycin is a result of these and other similar practices. Finally, ongoing research and development of new antibiotics and treatments are critical in the fight against resistant bacterial strains. Moreover, the development of vaccines to prevent bacterial infections can also reduce the need for antibiotics.

Answer 2

When penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928 it was a miracle drug that would permanently eradicate tuberculosis and many other bacteria causing disease but due to it's extensive use many bacteria especially tuberculosis become resistant to it.

Bacteria become resistance because they can make mutation in their genomes and make antibiotic resistant gene which they can transfer to other bacteria too.

So to slow down their evolution doctors now recommend antibiotic only when needed. Multiple antibiotics are given so that no bacteria survive for mutation. Human should discover new vaccines to decrease load on antibiotics which slows down the evolution of antibiotic resistance.