Antibiotics
in sentence
439 examples of Antibiotics in a sentence
When people recklessly use
antibiotics
to fight a common cold, when farmers use
antibiotics
to boost livestock productivity, or when pharmacological factories emit
antibiotics
into the environment to cut production costs, the bacteria that the drugs are designed to kill become immune.
The more
antibiotics
consumed and emitted, the faster resistance develops, leading to “superbugs” that jeopardize human health, both by raising the risk of massive deadly epidemics and by compromising medical services, such as surgery and cancer treatment, that rely on effective
antibiotics.
And, while many people might prefer a status quo approach that speeds up the development of new
antibiotics
while leaving current consumption unchanged, this solution brings its own set of ethical considerations – such as how and when to reduce the length of clinical trials.
One idea that has been proposed is to tax meat produced with antibiotics, an approach that could move animal agriculture in a more sustainable direction.
Making matters worse, the livestock are injected with large amounts of hormones and
antibiotics.
In the US, 80% of all
antibiotics
sold are administered prophylactically to livestock.
Medical experts warn that because the birds are routinely fed
antibiotics
to keep them growing in such crowded, filthy, and stressful conditions, antibiotic-resistant bacteria could cause a public-health threat.
Even in many middle-income and higher-income countries, there have been surges of new and re-emerging infectious diseases, as a result of increased global travel, the opening of new regions to settlement, and the overuse of
antibiotics
with a resulting spread of disease-resistant parasites.
Stalking a Killer FungusSINGAPORE – Warnings of the rise of so-called superbugs – disease-causing microbes that are resistant to many (or all)
antibiotics
– have been coming thick and fast in recent years.
After all, such patients are already in an immune-compromised state, and have been using antibiotics, which can kill off healthy bacteria.
I soon learned that, as bacteria and parasites develop resistance to existing drugs, like
antibiotics
and antimalarial medications, the world is at risk of losing its battle against infectious diseases.
Nor does it include the drop in living standards from the loss of life-enhancing treatments – for example, knee or hip replacements, cancer treatment, and caesarean sections – that rely on
antibiotics
to prevent infections.
The broad-brush research we conducted shows that such treatments – many of which would not be possible without effective
antibiotics
– add around 4% of benefit in terms of GDP.
In addition to highlighting the scale of the problem, the review is seeking to find ways to reduce drug resistance and to stimulate the production of new
antibiotics
to compensate for the loss of those that are now or will become ineffective.
Quicker, more accurate diagnoses will curb the current overreliance on
antibiotics
– a key requirement for combating resistance.
We need to stop demanding
antibiotics
from our doctors.
And, when
antibiotics
are called for, we need to finish the prescribed course.
As we try to prevent resistance to existing drugs, we will also need to examine the impact of
antibiotics
in agriculture.
Developing new
antibiotics
is a challenge, because pharmaceutical companies seem to need incentives to conduct the required research.
First came a spate of stories about pet food laced with melamine (a coal derivative), cough medicine and toothpaste adulterated with diethylene glycol (a sweet-tasting industrial chemical used in anti-freeze and brake fluid), toy trains decorated with lead-based paints, bacteria-infected antibiotics, exploding cell phone batteries, and defective car tires.
The world press is filled with stories about honey laced with industrial sweeteners, canned goods contaminated by bacteria and excessive amounts of additives, rice wine braced with industrial alcohol, and farm-raised fish, eel, and shrimp fed large doses of
antibiotics
and then washed down with formaldehyde to lower bacterial counts.
Pay-or-Play CapitalismLONDON – When I led the British government’s Review on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) from 2014 to 2016, we suggested various ways to fund a market-entry reward for drug makers that develop new
antibiotics
and vaccines.
In agriculture, G20 countries have promised to restrict the use of
antibiotics
outside of veterinary medicine.
That alone is a big step forward, given that, in big countries such as the United States, and possibly China and India,
antibiotics
are now used more for growth promotion in agriculture than for fighting infections in humans.
To win the war against AMR, we must stop doling out
antibiotics
like sweets.
To that end, we will need new technologies and other measures to change how
antibiotics
are prescribed and administered.
For example, in the Review on AMR, which I chaired, we urged developed countries to require, by 2020, that certain diagnostic tests be conducted before
antibiotics
can be prescribed.
So, too, can companies that commit to providing the necessary diagnostic technology at an affordable price, or pharmaceutical companies that support such technologies as a complement to new gram-negative antibiotics, which will have to be set at a higher price to discourage overuse.
If the major pharmaceutical producers were to make meaningful investments in
antibiotics
research, they could vastly improve the current environment for developing new drugs.
It already feels routine to be prescribed
antibiotics
for an infection.
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