Epidemiology, Disease Transmission, Prevention, and Control
Julius P. Kreier in Infection, Resistance, and Immunity, 2022
In spite of an ever-changing epidemiological situation, with its increase in prevalence of chronic diseases and decrease in prevalence of infectious diseases which has accompanied development, the latter still cause substantial burdens in both developed and underdeveloped countries. Established infectious diseases, like tuberculosis or malaria, continue to be prevalent, while new diseases, like AIDS, Lyme disease, cryptosporidiosis, and cyclosporidiosis, have appeared. The list of new diseases is constantly growing. Ebola, hepatitis C, and Guanarito viruses, among others, which were unknown less than twenty years ago, are now being found with increasing frequency. Antimicrobial resistance to antibiotics is also increasing. We now have Plasmodium falciparum resistant to antimalarial drugs, and HIV resistant to antiretro virais. These are a surging threat in both community and hospital settings. Tourism and migration, as well as other social factors, such as social inequality and its companion poverty, facilitate dissemination and transmission of infectious diseases. Such a constantly changing situation requires constant surveillance.
Why Appropriate Antimicrobial Selection is Important: Focus on Outcomes
Robert C. Owens, Paul G. Ambrose, Charles H. Nightingale in Antibiotic Optimization, 2004
There is a general consensus that antimicrobial resistance in the hospital setting has emerged as an important variable that influences patient outcomes and overall resource utilization (1-3). Hospitals worldwide are faced with increasingly rapid emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Both antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacilli and gram-positive bacteria are reported as important causes of hospital-acquired infections (4,5). In many cases, few antimicrobial agents remain for effective treatment, particularly with methicillin-resistant and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA, VRSA) and gram-negative bacteria producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamases with resistance to many other antibiotics (6-8).
Low Consumption of Meats and Low-to-Moderate Consumption of Poultry and Eggs
John J.B. Anderson, Marilyn C. Sparling in The Mediterranean Way of Eating, 2014
Preservatives and additives in fresh (raw) and processed meats may have negative effects on health. Antibiotics have been used in animal feed for decades to treat sick animals and to prevent disease in healthy animals. In addition, antibiotics have increasingly been used as growth-promoting agents. Large industrial farms often crowd many animals together, enabling disease to spread more easily among the animals. Over time, drug-resistant bacteria can develop in animals given antibiotics; these bacteria then can spread to humans through food, the environment, or by direct human-to-animal contact. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria in humans are a major health concern as infections from these bacteria are becoming more difficult and expensive to treat.
Recent advancements in cellulose-based biomaterials for management of infected wounds
Published in Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, 2021
Munira Momin, Varsha Mishra, Sankalp Gharat, Abdelwahab Omri
Antibiotic-resistance is a serious issue that requires immediate attention. It has become a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have emerged as a result of improper use of antibiotics. Some bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), have developed resistance to multiple antibiotics, and are referred to as multi-drug resistant bacteria. Antibiotics have been used for treating and preventing diseases in humans and animals for many years. The threat here is excessive use of antibiotics in humans, which leads to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant organisms. Furthermore, prior use of antimicrobial drugs puts a patient at risk of infection with a drug-resistant organism, and patients who have had the most antimicrobial exposure are more susceptible to infection with resistant bacteria [29–31].
Circumventing antimicrobial-resistance and preventing its development in novel, bacterial infection-control strategies
Published in Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, 2020
Tianrong Yu, Guimei Jiang, Ruifang Gao, Gaojian Chen, Yijin Ren, Jian Liu, Henny C. van der Mei, Henk J. Busscher
Persisters can comprise 1% of a biofilm-population [84] but due to their antibiotic-tolerance often related to chronic infections as they can start re-growing when antibiotic pressure is relieved. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have genetically changed to block antibiotic activity and grow in the presence of antibiotics. Typically, a biofilm houses subpopulations of bacteria that are susceptible and resistant to an antibiotic, a phenomenon called hetero-resistance [85,86]. Accordingly, the crowdedness and close proximity between bacteria in a biofilm-mode of growth create a hot-spot for horizontal gene transfer occurring within and between bacterial species and resulting genetic changes [87]. Horizontal gene transfer requires a membrane-associated DNA transport system as a part of natural, bacterial evolution [88]. Antibiotic-resistant mutants therefore generally appear more frequent in bacteria in a biofilm-mode of growth than during planktonic growth and accordingly inhibitory (MIC) and bactericidal concentrations (MBC), against biofilm bacteria, are much higher than that of planktonic bacteria [89,90].
Omics of antimicrobials and antimicrobial resistance
Published in Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery, 2019
Vladislav M. Chernov, Olga A. Chernova, Alexey A. Mouzykantov, Leonid L. Lopukhov, Rustam I. Aminov
Genetic mutations and horizontal transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes are the main routes for the development of clinically relevant antimicrobial resistance. Horizontal transfer is much more prevalent and happens mainly via the acquisition of the corresponding resistance genes from environmental and microbiome reservoirs [2,3]. Further selection by anthropogenic factors can significantly influence the rate of this transfer [4,5]. The development of antimicrobial resistance in microorganisms is just a question of time, because of their enormous metabolic diversity and evolutionary plasticity. The search for new antimicrobials in the ‘arms’ race against microorganisms is, therefore, doomed to be an everlasting process. The problem of antimicrobial resistance cannot be solved once and for all, but better strategies could be developed to handle the problem as efficiently and safely as possible. These strategies should be based on a detailed knowledge of how antimicrobial resistance develops, and on identification of critical checkpoints where preventive measures could be imposed to stop, or at least slowdown, the process.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Antibiotic
- Antifungal
- Antiviral Drug
- Bacteria
- Horizontal Gene Transfer
- Mutation
- Virus
- Antimicrobial
- Antiprotozoal
- Multiple Drug Resistance