Challenges of Bacterial Drug Resistance in Developing Countries

Abstract

Antibiotics play a critical role in reducing the burden of communicable diseases all over the world. The discovery of penicillin was followed by an extraordinary progress in research related to antibiotics and their extensive use. Many antibiotics are now available as primary weapons in mankind’s battle against infectious diseases. They revolutionized medicine, providing cures for earlier life threatening diseases and preventing many formerly inevitable deaths from infections. However, drug resistance threatens the effectiveness of the treatments of infections and has been a public health issue with national and global dimensions. This issue remains a great concern and one of the greatest challenges to health care professionals as well as those involved in drug discovery and development. The fear is that many bacteria will become resistant to all antibiotics, plunging humanity back into the conditions that existed before the pre-antibiotic era.