Anti-microbial Resistance (AMR) what is it and why you should be scared!
Let talk about anti-microbial Resistance (AMR) and why we need to worry about this problem more than what we currently do. Firstly, let me introduce you to AMR… AMR this is my blog, Blog this is AMR. AMR is the resistance of harmful bacteria which is increasingly gaining momentum as our population is increasingly consuming an overload of antibiotics. Whether that be through the most obvious prescription antibiotics like penicillin the doctor gives us or if we indirectly consume antibiotics through our food system from heavily medicated farm animals. This yet another reason why I heavily advocate for a more conscious meat consumption. Although being vegetarian doesn’t exclude you form overdosing on antibiotics as all dairy animals are also heavily medicated. Also, even being a vegan there is also a threat to anti-microbial resistance through cross contamination in the environment. Here is a little science lesson, there are bacteria around us all the time, in fact we are a cluster of a variety of bacteria that creates our more solid form. Without bacteria, we could not live as we do today, which means bacteria is essential to our lives and much of the bacteria types we know are good for us. It helps us with essential bodily functions like digestions and some of the bacteria helps us fight any bad bacteria that we are exposed to and keeps bad bacteria at bay. But too much exposure to bad bacteria will also kill us. As you can see its very much entangled in the lives which, we are leading and since it’s very difficult to make significant changes to how we go about the world today that’s why it calls for a serious concern and we should really be looking at ways to protect ourselves from this. Currently around 700,000 people a year lose the battle to anti-microbial resistance, in the next 30 years that figure will be 10 million people. Over the last 20 years or so we have seen a heavy decrease in innovation in short term use prescription drugs as large pharmaceutical companies don’t see it as financially viable as it is to using long term medicine which can be used for many years and ideally for a life time. About 70 years ago antibiotics have been invented and this was a celebrated success globally as they have helped us fight some of the deadliest diseases to name a couple are Tuberculosis and Typhoid.When we realised how great antibiotics work when we use them properly we got a bit too happy and started overprescribing. We also quickly realised that antibiotics don’t just work on humans but also on animals.When we industrialised our farming, and started cramming large quantities of animals in smaller spaces they started getting sick form one another and figured great we can just inject them with antibiotics to save them from getting sick.Small enough doses are used to ensure our food continues to be produced safely and hence we have also eliminated many food borne diseases like this. But these small doses are also too small to kill all the bad microbials so just like us humans who have evolved and adapted to new conditions they too evolve and adept to new living conditions and fight back. They then create their own immunity and become resistant to the antibiotics we give them. Below I have included some graphs which the WHO has released to show you a better picture of how it works and some suggestions of what you need to do to protect yourself.
The experience thus far with EPHA has really been invaluable to realise how important it is that we take ownership of our own health. To read up on different issues that take place around us and impacts us immensely. But with all the distractions like Facebook and the latest DJ.Trump tweet keeps us unaware of what goes on. I urge anybody reading this blog that you take some serious interest. Al though big industries like pharmaceutical companies don’t want to kill you, the reality is that money is a big driving factor around what they will focus on in developing. Government definitely has a bigger responsibility to wards us however sometimes we need to remind them that we are important to consider when making policies. I can tell you many crazy stories I have read about AMR but I have attached a couple of links to get you acquainted.
http://imunews.imu.edu.my/health/antibiotics-friend-foe/ http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/article/msf-takes-antibiotic-resistance http://ec.europa.eu/health/ngo_award/home_en
