Despite antibiotics being one of modern medicine’s greatest achievements, the widespread misuse and overuse of drugs has accelerated the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria, creating a global public health crisis that threatens the effectiveness of modern medical treatment.
Background: The Importance of Antibiotics
Antibiotics are widely regarded as one of humanity’s most significant medical innovations. By stopping the growth of dangerous microorganisms, antibiotics have saved us humans on battlefields, operating rooms, and from everyday infections, reshaping the future of medicine and civilization. However, the widespread misuse of the same drugs that once revolutionized healthcare are also contributing to a new threat: antimicrobial resistance, or AMR. The seriousness of this is prominent, as it is ranked as one of the top three priority health threats by the European Commission and the Member States, alongside global pandemics and nuclear or biological weapons usage. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also listed AMR as top 10 global health threats facing humanity.
According to the World Health Organization, Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial medicines. As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines become ineffective and infections become difficult, or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illnesses, and potential disability and death.
Antibiotic Misuse in U.S. Hospitals
In the United States, hospitals have become major environments where antibiotic resistance accelerates, primarily due to overprescription. Physicians in the United States have a tendency to prescribe antibiotics before the exact cause of an infection is identified, a practice driven by time pressure, high costs, and patient expectations, as shown by a report from the CDC . The CDC estimates that 20% to 50% of all antibiotics prescribed in U.S. hospitals are categorized as “overprescription”, and many of them count adverse drug reactions among their side effects. While this approach may have provided psychological reassurance for patients as they think they have gotten adequate care,, it has contributed significantly to widespread overprescription.
As a consequence, antibiotic resistance infections have surged nationwide. Each year, millions of Americans are affected by infections caused by resistant bacteria, including methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE). These pathogens cannot be treated with standard antibiotics and instead specialized treatments cause severe side effects.
AMR in South Korea: Cultural Factors
While hospital overuse is a primary cause of resistance in the United States, South Korea faces a different challenge. According to the KPA News from South Korea, only about 31.9 % reported that they do not stop antibiotics when symptoms improve, meaning the 68% do stop early on their own.
The practice of discontinuing antibiotics arbitrarily prevents bacteria from being fully eliminated, allowing the strongest strains to survive and adapt. Although this pattern differs from hospital- driven misuse in the United States, it exerts the same or more pressure and contributes significantly to the global rise of antimicrobial resistance.
Different Causes, Same Consequences
DWhatever the cause may be, both countries are showing patterns which create evolutionary pressure that cultivates antibiotic resistant bacteria. In medical systems and everyday life alike, we are creating an environment that can potentially lead us back to where common infections once again become deadly.
Writer Stephanie Thurrot from Banner Health states, in order to prevent the wider spread of antimicrobial resistance, “Follow prescription instructions carefully, and only take antimicrobials if a health care provider recommends them”.
As such, it is crucial that humanity focus on solving this problem in order to continue on fighting pathogens effectively.
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