“Bacterial resistance” has become a worrying problem in the long years of struggle with bacterial infection, with the attendant misunderstanding that bacterial resistance cannot be suppressed by any antibacterial agent after it is produced. This misperception, which plunges many people into a pessimism against the promise of bacteria and even affects therapeutic decision-making, does not have to be so desperate.
Bacteria resistance is a defence mechanism for bacteria to evolve under life pressure. When exposed to antibacterial drugs or antibacterial products over a long period of time, some bacteria alter their own structure or metabolic pathways through genetic mutations, gene transfer, etc., so that antibacterial agents that could otherwise be “enemy” are rendered ineffective. Like MRSA, the acquisition of special resistance genes to traditional β-nimamine antibiotics causes a number of difficult infections in the hospital environment.
But it doesn’t mean in any way that a drug-resistant bacteria is a “super monster” that can resist all means of resistance. First, the development of new antibacterial drugs has never stopped. Researchers are targeting bacterial resistance and are constantly digging new antibacterials. For example, in the case of MRSA, antibiotics such as vancomicin and linazine have been developed, cutting in from different action points, disrupting vital life processes such as the synthesis of bacterial cell walls and protein translation, and “arming up” the drug-resistant bacteria. These new drugs, although not a panacea key, have been very effective in the treatment of specific drug-resistant infections, adding “strengths” to the clinician.
The joint drug strategy is also a good way to fight drug-resistant bacteria. When a single antibacterial force is not available, doctors often combine antibacterial drugs from different mechanisms. For example, in the treatment of tuberculosis, in the face of drug-resistant tuberculosis, the combination of amphibian, lifopine and acetamide, and the use of various drug targets to metabolize different metabolisms to the tuberculosis fungus, a multi-pronged approach has significantly reduced the risk of escape and improved cure rates for the tuberculosis bacteria. This “package boxing” model makes it difficult for drug-resistant bacteria to compete through synergies to compensate for single-drug slabs.
In addition to drug treatment, physical antibacterial methods are visible. Physical means, such as UV exposure and plasma sterilization, are useful for some of the implanted medical devices, such as artificial joints, post-cardial pacemaker implant infections. Instead of relying on chemical antibacterial agents for direct confrontation with bacteria, they circumvent resistance by destroying biomolecular elements such as bacteria’s nucleic acids, proteins and the like, at their root, the living bacteria. In the case of plasma sterilisation, the high-energy particles that are produced, the free radicals break the bacterial “shells” in an instant, break the resistance barrier, kill the bacteria efficiently and without residues, and open new paths to medical equipment reuse, infection prevention and control.
From a prevention perspective, infection control measures are essential. Improved hand hygiene, environmental disinfection and quarantine protection in hospitals can effectively disrupt the drug resistance transmission chain. At the community level, it promotes rational use of drugs, avoids the abuse of antibiotics and slows the evolution of bacterial resistance. For example, in the family, children are not given free antibiotics to treat colds and to prevent the screening of drug-resistant bacteria “infiltration”, which creates a barrier to subsequent formal treatment.
So when you hear about bacterial resistance, you don’t have to panic, let alone believe in the rumour of “no cure”. On the one hand, scientific research continues to empower and new antibacterials and treatments are emerging; on the other hand, preventive controls are being strengthened to curb drug resistance from the source. The public maintains scientific awareness and, in cooperation with medical institutions, the rational use of drugs and the prevention of infection, we are confident that, in the protracted battle against the drug-resistant bacteria, we will maintain a healthy position so that the antibacterial line remains strong.
