The Rise of the Superbug
By M.J. Louis, RN
(Chapter 11 of "Go In Peace--When Letting Go Is The Greatest Act Of Love")
What is a
Superbug?
The term “Superbug” is currently
being used to describe microbe
pathogens
that modern medicine struggles to combat. Superbugs earned their dubious name
due to their resistance to most antibiotics,
antivirals,
and antifungals.
These medications are commonly referred to as Antimicrobials. Superbugs are
simply created by the inappropriate and overuse of antimicrobials on an
infected human or animal host.
Most people don’t
consider microbe pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi as having
intelligence. I would beg to differ. A definition for intelligence is; to have
the ability to gather, process, and use information to ones advantage. As a critical care nurse, it is common place
for me to administer up to five different powerful antimicrobials at one time
to an infected patient only to witness their white blood cell
count (WBCs) rise exponentially. An increase in the WBCs signifies an increase
in the pathogen(s).
They say the superhero
gives rise to the supervillain. Never has this analogy held so true as it does
in describing the relationship between antimicrobials and Superbugs. To
understand why these microbes are considered to be the supervillains’ in modern
medicine, you must first understand what their superpower is and how they
became endowed with such a power. The foremost superpower of the Superbug is
DRUG RESISTANCE. A
drug resistant pathogen can simply laugh in the face of an antimicrobial that
is meant to kill it.
Antibiotics and
similar drugs used to fight infection have been in widespread use since the
1940’s. Microbes have been around for over three billion years. That’s quite a
head start. Unlike human beings, they are very simple organisms; therefore possess
the ability to adapt very easily and quickly through evolution.
Let’s follow the age
old battle between the old school antibacterial hero, Penicillin verses the
dreaded pathogen villain MRSA; aka Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus,
aka Staph Infection. In the 1940’s Penicillin came on the scene and save the
lives of millions suffering from bacterial infections. It seemed like no
bacteria stood a chance against the mighty Penicillin. People believed in the
superpowers of Penicillin so much they called upon it even when they didn’t
need it. The overuse of Penicillin was causing the immune systems of its
consumers to become lazy. Unbeknownst to
the medical community, Bacteria’s instinct to survive kicked in causing it to
mutate into the Superbug MRSA.
The new superbug MRSA
passed on its new Penicillin resistant gene into other bacteria in similar
fashion to the cloning abilities of MR. Smith of Matrix fame (see image below).
By the 1950’s MRSA was raking havoc in hospitals and the first generation of
Penicillin was rendered helpless against this new super villain that it helped
create.
Center
for Disease Control Antibiotic/Antimicrobial Resistance
Drug-resistant Superbugs are a global threat. According to
the 2014 World Health Organization (WHO) report, Antimicrobial
resistance: global report on surveillance; only 34
out of the 133 countries surveyed on their preparedness to handle an outbreak
had a prepared comprehensive plan. The
report identifies countries not having the proper infrastructure to properly
survey drug resistance diseases and the widespread sale of antibiotics without
prescriptions to be major contributing factors. The WHO states, without a
worldwide coordinated effort we are headed to a post-antibiotic error.
The
WHO 2014 report focuses on the seven bacteria which
are responsible for common, serious diseases such as bloodstream infections
(sepsis), diarrhea, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and gonorrhea. Each of
the seven has developed Superbug strains that are resistant even to “last
resort” antibiotics.
