Predicted to be the Leading Cause of Human Death in 2050: The Warning of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, the 'Silent Pandemic'

Are you arbitrarily stopping your prescribed antibiotics just because you feel a little better? According to statistical predictions, warnings are emerging that deaths caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria could exceed the combined number of deaths from cancer and traffic accidents. According to a video from Gwahageulboda, if current trends continue, resistant bacteria are projected to become the greatest threat to humanity by 2050. This aligns with the flow of a 'silent pandemic' caused by the increasing number of bacteria that drugs cannot affect.

The Reason You Must Finish Your Medication Even After Symptoms Disappear

The most important thing to note when taking antibiotics is to 'strictly adhere to the prescribed period.' The video cites a common case where a person is prescribed a week's worth of medication but stops taking it after about four days when symptoms improve. The problem in this case is the small number of bacteria that still survive in the body. These are individuals that have endured the attack of the antibiotics; if they survive and multiply, they eventually become 'resistant bacteria' that antibiotics cannot work against. Therefore, even if symptoms are gone, one must take all the prescribed medication within the prescribed period to completely suppress the bacteria and prevent the occurrence of resistance.

Additionally, the act of carelessly discarding leftover antibiotics requires caution, as it can expose antibiotic components to the environment and encourage the spread of resistance. The video warned of the impact antibiotic use has on the environment, noting that antibiotic resistance genes have spread so widely that they have been found in the soil of Antarctica and the Arctic. In particular, environments such as the livestock industry that use excessive amounts of antibiotics become conditions where resistant bacteria can easily breed.

Viruses That Catch Bacteria: A New Alternative Called 'Bacteriophage'

Existing antibiotics have the limitation of attacking not only pathogens but also the beneficial bacteria in our bodies. As an alternative to solve this problem, 'Bacteriophage' is gaining attention. Bacteriophages are viruses that eat bacteria, and because they have the characteristic of attacking only specific bacteria, they can precisely target only pathogens while protecting beneficial bacteria.

In fact, there is a case where a product called 'ListShield,' which utilizes a bacteriophage solution that attacks only the food poisoning bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, received FDA approval. To solve the problem of Listeria, which grows well in refrigerators or at room temperature and contaminates items like salads, it can be used by diluting and spraying this solution. The video mentioned a case in the United States in 2016 where a man in his 60s infected with a superbug that was resistant to all antibiotics was successfully treated by injecting bacteriophages, suggesting that this technology could be a breakthrough for the antibiotic resistance problem. In addition to this, various possibilities of use are being discussed, such as applying it to the skin of burn patients to protect the skin, which is the front line of immunity. Currently, research is also underway to find viruses that match specific bacteria and use them like new antibiotics.

The Danger of 'Horizontal Transfer' Where Bacteria Exchange Genes

The reason antibiotic resistance is terrifying is due to a characteristic bacteria possess called 'Plasmid.' In addition to the method of passing genes down to offspring, bacteria are capable of 'horizontal gene transfer,' which allows them to directly deliver genes to other bacteria nearby. Because resistance genes are carried and delivered via these plasmids, even if only a single resistant bacterium is created, it can spread rapidly to surrounding bacteria. This is a characteristic unique to bacteria, in contrast to how humans cannot directly deliver genes to their neighbors.

The video also points out that these resistance genes already exist in nature. In a natural state, antibiotic components can act as communication messengers between microorganisms or even serve as food. However, experts analyze that as humanity uses antibiotics in high concentrations, the speed at which microorganisms in nature develop resistance in response is accelerating. In particular, the emergence of 'multidrug-resistant bacteria,' which possess resistance to several types of antibiotics, is becoming a major threat to humanity.