Bacteria are getting more resistant to most kind of antibiotic therapy making common infectious diseases untreatable, the United Nations say.
In a general assembly last year, the UN addressed the problem with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also know as superbugs. Together with several countries, the organization aims to tackle the increasing health problem that has alarmed public health officials and health experts.
In Singapore, the situation has reached a new level as cases are reported of patients suffering from common infections and failing to get well even after antibiotics have been given.
For example, a young leukemia patient who underwent a bone marrow transplant developed high fever, and within a week, bacteria in her bloodstream have become resistant to all common antibiotics.
Another tragic case is that of a middle-aged patient who underwent a prostate biopsy. He eventually developed high fever and multiple organ failure for which he was given commonly used antibiotics. Ultimately, the antibiotic therapy did not work and his situation became hopeless, the Strait Times reports.
Infectious disease experts say that such situation has become more common in the past years. Several thousands of such cases are reported yearly in Singapore, one expert says.
One particular class of antibiotics that seem to be losing effectiveness to common bacteria are Carbapenems. They are the last resort and safest drug for such common infections.
These drugs used to be the commonly prescribed antibiotics for gram-negative bacteria. These kind of bacteria cause infections in the gut, bladder, and pelvic.
According to the PHYS, Carbapenems, which used to treat these infections have become less effective in patients. Doctors are seeing more patients who no longer respond to this kind of antibiotics.
Singapore is facing more dire situations like this as it is a travel and medical hub, one expert on diseases says. Furthermore, common yet deadly infections like gonorrhea and pneumonia are becoming untreatable.
As reported earlier, Singapore becomes one of the first countries to develop new laws that will reduce the escalation of the problem. Public health officials hope that the reformation will address the issue of antibiotic therapy resistance.
