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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Infections Not Fought: Antibiotic Resistance In Underserved Communities, Derek Lillestolen
Infections Not Fought: Antibiotic Resistance In Underserved Communities, Derek Lillestolen
Senior Honors Theses
In 1928, the profound effects of penicillin were discovered and antibiotic treatments became extremely popular. Broad-spectrum antibiotics, like tetracyclines, have been since branded as cure-all prescriptions and used profusely in the Western World and abroad. Due to ignorance of specific biochemical mechanisms and the misuse of antibiotics these drugs inadvertently allowed the rise in prevalence of antibiotic resistant strains of certain bacteria as the century progressed. Now, the specific genetic causes and mechanisms of antibiotic resistance are being understood, but the fight against antimicrobial resistance is far from over. In the United States, thousands of fatalities are caused annually by …
Antibiotic Overuse: The History, Consequences, And Possible Solutions, Brooke A. Bost
Antibiotic Overuse: The History, Consequences, And Possible Solutions, Brooke A. Bost
Senior Honors Theses
Antibiotic overuse has become alarmingly accepted in the developed world. This overuse is leading to drug resistance in microbes, resulting in bacterial infections that are impossible to treat. Steps must be taken to reverse the damage that has already been done and prevent further resistance from developing. This thesis will examine the context and societal situations that led to this acceptance of antibiotic overuse and misuse seen in both health care professionals and the public, the biochemical and genetic pathways that allow a microbe to develop drug resistance, the various methods that have been suggested by experts to prevent and …