Since the early 1900s, humans have been using antibiotics, also known as antibacterials, to treat and prevent bacterial illnesses. The effects have greatly increased the chances of survival for once-lethal diseases. Antibiotics such as penicillin, methicillin and tetracycline have raised the quality of life so much, that people have stopped being afraid of the once ferocious epidemics that plagued towns, cities, and countries. However, with new methods of medicine comes a backdoor that has opened for a new dangerous illness.

A “superbug” is a pathogenic microorganism that has developed resistance to the drugs frequently used to treat it. Superbugs such as HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) and E.coli (Escherichia Coli) have begun their advance through multiple different healthcare processes, rendering drugs ineffective. These phenomena were given birth largely from the growing, and often careless, use of antibiotics.

The CDC (Center for Disease and Control) estimates that over 30% of antibiotic prescriptions in the U.S. are unnecessary. Alarming as that is, 70% of antibiotics in the U.S. are given to livestock.

Superbugs are being created by both humans and livestock. When someone uses antibiotics correctly, all the bacteria should be killed in their body. However, when too little of the antibiotics are used, or not frequently enough, then some of the bacteria survive, having developed an antibiotic resistance. The next time antibiotics are used on this bacteria and its offspring, the drugs won’t be as effective.

The CDC and WHO (World Health Organization) have been working to slow down the process of antibiotic resistance, but some pharmaceutical and livestock companies have been pushing back regulations to maintain their businesses. Regulations could decrease the amount of antibiotics pharmaceutical companies can sell, and decrease the number of antibiotics livestock companies can feed to their livestock. The effects of superbugs are lethal and have been growing quickly.  According to the CDC, at least 23,000 people die annually in the U.S. from drug-resistant infections that could once be easily cured.

Though the future looks bleak, there’s a glimmer of hope hidden in all the madness. New ideas have been brought to the table to stop the antibacterial resistant bacteria, including but not limited to: educational campaigns, vaccination awareness, less frequent unnecessary prescriptions, increased attention to equipment sterilization and prizes to innovations created by pharmaceutical companies. With medicine advancing every day, superbugs could be a beatable opponent.