Antibiotics: Use And Impact

Antibiotics impart into anti(against) and biotics(life) are the chemical substances (drugs) created by the metabolic action of the bacterium and plant life which is capable of destroying or killing bacteria or capable of restricting(control) the enlargement of the different bacterium. The primary antibiotic was penicillin invented in 1928 by Fleming. This is extracted from Penicillium Chrysogenum. The major uses of antibiotics are: on a medication and as a food preserver or the supplement in animal feed. And the negative effect of antibiotics includes frequent consumption of antibiotics that is termed as antibiotics resistance and also the negative response of it on the surrounding.

Antibiotics are used for many reasons and one among the most reasons is it is used as medicine to control various infectious diseases in human being and other animals. The antibiotics to be used as a medicine should be able to kill or destroy a variety of pathogenic bacterium and it shouldn’t allow developing the resistant in the body of the host against another bacterium. Also, the antibiotics shouldn’t kill or destroy the useful bacterium and shouldn’t have any side effect of it. The immune system in the body can kill the bacterium before they will multiply and show the symptoms. The immune system will generally fight the infection even though the symptoms have already occurred (Alan Carter,2019). Just one antibiotic will never cure each infection. The mode of dealing with bacterial contamination varies by the actual classification of antibiotic taken for the aim (Sandhyarani, n.d). There is a giant category of anti-infectives that covers a large variety of infections which include plant life, bacterial or protozoic infections. The antibiotics work effectively on bacteria or even kill the bacteria however, it doesn’t work against any virus infection (Anderson, 2019).

One impact of antibiotics is a serious pathological state known as antibiotics resistance that results in higher medical prices. The bacterium becomes resistance once the antibiotics are overused, self-medicated, or used incorrectly. For instance, victimization the antibiotics for common infections like sore throats, cough, and cold influenza. Antibiotics cannot kill antibiotics resistant bacteria. It only works effectively before the appearance of resistance (Anderson, 2019) so, these resistant bacteria are tougher to treat compared with the non-resistance bacteria. Since the antibiotics were initially discovered, the Australian health care system has heavily relied on it among all the age group which leads to increase in antibiotic resistance in each individual and population level (NPS MEDICINEWISE, 2016). According to Fleming (1945) “Then there is the danger that the ignorant man could simply underdose himself and exposing his microbes to non-lethal quantities of the of drug, creating them resistant (Alan Carter, 2019). The person to find the antibiotics first predicted that the drug resistance is currently being common. According to the study conducted by NPS MEDICINEWISE (2016), nearly half of the population of Australia have prescribed at least a course of antibiotics in 2014 among which penicillin was largely prescribed (44% in 2014 compared to 46% in 1994). Therefore, there will be high chance of antibiotic resistance if the antibiotics is used more.

Another use of antibiotics are that it is used as the preservation for food (though it is not accepted universally), crops and animals. The primary use of antibiotics become attainable on November 30, 1955. Antibiotics is being used within the place wherever there’s lack of sanitation and refrigeration for the storage of food especially meat and meat products. For instance, in the early time, vinegar was used to avoid the pickle from being stale whereas salt was used for dehydration (Charles and Durbin, 2015). Different kind of antibiotics are used to preserve the food but the introduction of antibiotics damage food the maximum amount as different chemical substance do. However, this is an unnoticeable problem in food safety in comparison to other major problems (Henry Welch, 2013). Also, antibiotics are used as nutrition for an animal to assist the growth of animals. Usually, antibiotics are given to them to make their growth quicker or to prevent the disease of one animal spreading over the complete flock. In today’s generation antibiotics are used as sprays for crops that facilitates in preventing microorganism in them. Antibiotics like pesticides are sprayed over growing crops to control the bacteria present within them.

Another effect of antibiotics is the environmental impact. The waste produced from the farms, agriculture or the wastewater during the manufacture of antibiotics is the main source of antibiotic resistance genes. These resistance genes play a negative role in the environment. The antibiotic released onto the environment from human and animals can spread up emergence and spread of resistance. This could undermine progress in healthcare, food security, and ultimate life expectancy. The part of antibiotics given to animals is excreted in the form of manure. As the manure of animals is rich in nutrients, it is used as fertilizer in the fields. This leads to the direct contamination of the environment and resistance bacteria present in the manure decrease the fertility of the soil. In the case of humans, they may become sick while consuming antibiotic-resistant bacteria-contaminated food and water (React, n.d). Also, the wastewater produced from the manufacturing of antibiotics is not disposed off properly. All the above mention factors are affecting the environment somehow.

In conclusion, antibiotics are used as medicine to inhibit the growth of bacteria in the body or kill them. Sometimes the bacteria become resistant and couldn’t be treated easily. This can be caused due to overdoes or the incorrect dose of antibiotics. Also, the antibiotic is used in crops to minimize agriculture’s contribution to antibiotic resistance which can lead to a negative impact on the soil environment.