And my reaction is immediately in the other direction “well that still sounds achievable for the bacteria to overcome under the right circumstances... what if we worked on a triple-action method...
And my reaction is immediately in the other direction
“well that still sounds achievable for the bacteria to overcome under the right circumstances... what if we worked on a triple-action method to really absolutely make sure of it?”
I believe when it was first mentioned, the plan is to introduce this antibiotic only when normal antibiotics aren't working so we aren't overexposing the population and potentially filtering out...
I believe when it was first mentioned, the plan is to introduce this antibiotic only when normal antibiotics aren't working so we aren't overexposing the population and potentially filtering out bacteria resistant to this one.
Why bother? Isn't the whole point that this one is next to impossible to grow to resist? Seems silly to continue to develop bacteria resistant to 'regular' antibiotics if we could just use this...
Why bother? Isn't the whole point that this one is next to impossible to grow to resist?
Seems silly to continue to develop bacteria resistant to 'regular' antibiotics if we could just use this one and not have that risk.
There is potentially a pretty big (one might argue infinite) gulf between "impossible" and "next to impossible". There are 8.1 billion people. As of 2021, the usage of antibiotics was at 14.3 DDD...
There is potentially a pretty big (one might argue infinite) gulf between "impossible" and "next to impossible".
There are 8.1 billion people. As of 2021, the usage of antibiotics was at 14.3 DDD (defined daily doses) per 1000 people worldwide. That's 115,830,000 doses of antibiotics every single day, and that number is likely higher now and will continue to grow in the future. I don't know what the odds are of a bacterium developing resistance to this new antibiotic, but they'd have to be pretty darn microscopic for me to feel comfortable ditching all alternatives.
There is also a matter of availability. If some antibiotics are cheaper or easier to produce or store than this new antibiotic, it would make sense to keep using those in cases where they are still effective.
Bacteria can evolve to do a lot of crazy stuff. There's an ongoing multi-decade E. coli evolution experiment wherein some of the bacteria evolved to grow on citrate in an aerobic environment after...
Bacteria can evolve to do a lot of crazy stuff. There's an ongoing multi-decade E. colievolution experiment wherein some of the bacteria evolved to grow on citrate in an aerobic environment after tens of thousands of generations. Extremely unlikely isn't the same thing as impossible.
With only one compound, the two mechanisms can't be prescribed independently. You are certain that the antibiotic is always present in its dual-action format so there is no chance of independent...
With only one compound, the two mechanisms can't be prescribed independently. You are certain that the antibiotic is always present in its dual-action format so there is no chance of independent usage letting bacteria establish resistance to each in sequence. As long as it is possible to take, say, Fluoroquinolone by itself, then Fluoroquinolone resistance is a risk and the combo may eventually be compromised.
The problem is many of those regiments weren't adhered to...even by physicians. Gonorrhoea is famously good at acquiring antibiotic resistance, so an injection and a pill became the standard combo...
The problem is many of those regiments weren't adhered to...even by physicians. Gonorrhoea is famously good at acquiring antibiotic resistance, so an injection and a pill became the standard combo treatment. Turns out a lot of patients hate injections, so now gonorrhoea increasingly resists the pill due to a lack of compliance with recommendations.
I don’t know enough about the subject to analyze the claim, but if it’s true this is a HUGE breakthrough.
And my reaction is immediately in the other direction
“well that still sounds achievable for the bacteria to overcome under the right circumstances... what if we worked on a triple-action method to really absolutely make sure of it?”
One step at a time?
I expect this would be delivered in practice with a cocktail of other antibiotics, rather than in isolation.
I believe when it was first mentioned, the plan is to introduce this antibiotic only when normal antibiotics aren't working so we aren't overexposing the population and potentially filtering out bacteria resistant to this one.
Why bother? Isn't the whole point that this one is next to impossible to grow to resist?
Seems silly to continue to develop bacteria resistant to 'regular' antibiotics if we could just use this one and not have that risk.
There is potentially a pretty big (one might argue infinite) gulf between "impossible" and "next to impossible".
There are 8.1 billion people. As of 2021, the usage of antibiotics was at 14.3 DDD (defined daily doses) per 1000 people worldwide. That's 115,830,000 doses of antibiotics every single day, and that number is likely higher now and will continue to grow in the future. I don't know what the odds are of a bacterium developing resistance to this new antibiotic, but they'd have to be pretty darn microscopic for me to feel comfortable ditching all alternatives.
There is also a matter of availability. If some antibiotics are cheaper or easier to produce or store than this new antibiotic, it would make sense to keep using those in cases where they are still effective.
Bacteria can evolve to do a lot of crazy stuff. There's an ongoing multi-decade E. coli evolution experiment wherein some of the bacteria evolved to grow on citrate in an aerobic environment after tens of thousands of generations. Extremely unlikely isn't the same thing as impossible.
What’s the advantage of this vs just taking a Macrolide and a Fluoroquinolone antibiotic at the same time?
With only one compound, the two mechanisms can't be prescribed independently. You are certain that the antibiotic is always present in its dual-action format so there is no chance of independent usage letting bacteria establish resistance to each in sequence. As long as it is possible to take, say, Fluoroquinolone by itself, then Fluoroquinolone resistance is a risk and the combo may eventually be compromised.
Researchers discover the strategy of infectious disease specialists for years: prescribing two antibiotics
The problem is many of those regiments weren't adhered to...even by physicians. Gonorrhoea is famously good at acquiring antibiotic resistance, so an injection and a pill became the standard combo treatment. Turns out a lot of patients hate injections, so now gonorrhoea increasingly resists the pill due to a lack of compliance with recommendations.