Jose L Garcia MD

Antimicrobial Resistance Jose L Garcia MD

Infectious diseases are the leading cause of death among children and young adults, mainly in underdeveloped countries. They cause more than 13 million deaths, according to the WHO, which represents 45% of all deaths in poor countries and 60% in children aged 0-4. The first places are occupied by respiratory diseases, followed by diarrheas and tuberculosis. Today the human being faces a struggle for its existence, and its most effective weapon is not in sophisticated laboratories or in complex chemical reactions, but in the rationality of the facultative to use efficiently the weapons we have today in this fight: Antimicrobials, antibiotics and chemotherapeutics. Talking about the post-antibiotic age, could mean talking about the post-human era. The problem of bacterial resistance is raised, and the most worrying thing is that it grows every day more. It is necessary to save one of the greatest achievements of medicine: the discovery and subsequent development of antimicrobial drugs. This could mean saving existence. WHO reports indicate that at least half of antimicrobial use in the community and hospitals is unnecessary and inappropriate and increases resistance to these antimicrobial agents. Such resistance constitutes the silent epidemic of the 21st century. We are sure that this text will lead us to use antibiotics with greater precision.