Reduction of Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria: a Review

Drug resistant bacteria have been posing a major challenge to the effective control of bacterial infections for quite some time. One of the main causes of antibiotics drug resistance is antibiotic overuse, abuse, and in some cases, misuse, due to incorrect diagnosis. Bacterial antibiotic resistance is a significant issues faced by various industries, including the food and agricultural industries, the medical and veterinary profession and others. The potential for transfer of antibiotics resistance, or of potentially lethal antibiotic resistant bacteria, for example from a food animal to human consumer, is of particular concern. A method of controlling development and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria include changes in antibiotic usage and pattern of usage of different antibiotics. However, the ability of bacteria to adapt to antibiotic usage and to acquire resistance to existing and new antibiotics usage overcomes such conventional measures, and requires the continued development of alternative means of control of antibiotic resistance bacteria. Alternative means for overcoming the tendency of bacteria to acquire resistance to antibiotic control measures have taken various forms. This article explains one method evaluated for control, that is reducing or removing antibiotic resistance is so called “curing” of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is formed in the chromosomal elements. Thus elimination of such drug-resistance plasmids results in loss of antibiotics resistance by the bacterial cell. “Curing” of a microorganism refers to the ability of the organism to spontaneously lose a resistance plasmid under the effect of particular compounds and environmental conditions, thus recovering the antibiotic sensitive state. INTRODUCTION: Today, there are about 4000 compounds with antibiotic properties. Antibiotics are used to treat and prevent infections, and to promote growth in animals. Antibiotics are derived from three sources: moulds or fungi; bacteria; or synthetic or semi-synthetic compounds. They can be used either internally or topically, and their function is to either inhibit the growth of pathogens or to kill them . Antibiotics can thus be divided into Bacteriostatic drugs, which merely inhibit the growth of the pathogen, and Bactericidal drugs, which actually kill the bacteria. Antibiotics can also be divided into broadspectrum and narrow-spectrum antibiotics. For example, Tetracycline, a broad spectrum antibiotic, is active against G+ve bacteria, G-ve bacteria 11, , and even against mycobacteria; whereas penicillin, which has a relatively narrow spectrum 4, , can be used mainly against G+ve bacteria. Other antibiotics, such as Pyrazinamide, have an even narrower spectrum, and can be used merely against Mycobacterium