A Literature Review on the Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance and its Impact
Abstract
The widespread use of antibiotics has revolutionized modern medicine, helping to fight against countless bacterial infections, significantly reducing mortality rates, and preventing the further spread of bacterial diseases. However, the overuse and misuse of antibiotics have come with a significant downside: they have allowed bacteria to develop antibiotic resistance, posing a major challenge to public health and the effective treatment of infectious diseases. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria evolve and adapt to withstand the effects of the antibiotics designed to kill them. This phenomenon poses a great threat to global health, complicating the treatment of patients and increasing the risk of severe illnesses, death, and disease spread. Bacteria have evolved to develop antibiotic resistance through various mechanisms, including genetic mutations and the process of horizontal gene transfer. Additionally, other non-genetic factors such as ecological contexts and interspecies interactions, play a crucial role in the evolution and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The effects of antibiotic resistance worldwide result in prolonged hospital stays, increased healthcare costs, and higher mortality rates. In this review, I explore the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance in bacteria, how it has evolved, and its impact on society, while emphasizing the importance of developing new strategies to combat this growing threat.