The development of new antibiotic drugs can not keep up with bacterial evolution

The discovery of antibiotics as the most brilliant modern medical achievements of the 20th century has cured many serious infectious diseases. However, in recent years, with the wide application of antibiotics in the treatment of clinical diseases, bacteria that are highly resistant to antibiotics have also appeared. "'Superbug' is not as terrible as its name, but the serious drug-resistant bacteria that it poses are probably beyond the imagination of ordinary people. High drug resistance is not only present in the bacteria in the human body, but even Bacteria in our living environment are also becoming more and more drug-resistant.” Experts and clinicians such as Yang Shengli and Liao Wanqing at the 47th Shanghai Academy of Sciences held recently held the bacteria resistance to bacteria. Described by the American Institute of Medicine as a "global public health and environmental disasters" issue is deeply worried.

Bacterial resistance in food is actually higher than bacteria in human body

It is reported that the World Health Organization has put “resistance to drug resistance” as the theme of World Health Day 2011, hoping to reverse the “negligible decade of drug resistance”. Based on the monitoring data of food-borne pathogens in recent years, Chen Min, deputy director of the Microbiology Research Office of the Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, put forward in the report “Bacterial Resistance and Public Health Safety” an active surveillance network for bacterial drug resistance. Based on laboratories, all aspects of antibiotic abuse problems may be covered in hospitals, communities, agriculture, animal husbandry, aquaculture and food processing industries.

According to reports, as early as 10 years ago, China has conducted monitoring on the resistance of some pathogenic bacteria in meat, milk and other foods. Studies on Salmonella have found that some Salmonella isolates from food animals are resistant to three or four antibiotics, and some may even be resistant to 11 antibiotics. In this regard, Chen Min said: "This situation can only show that the aquaculture industry is heavily misusing antibiotics. Perhaps the abuse of antibiotics by aquaculture is more serious than the abuse of antibiotics by humans."

The Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention also monitored in recent years that Vibrio cholerae and Salmonella isolated from Shanghai water bodies, aquatic products, and even flies have multi-drug resistance to varying degrees. The study found that the resistance of Salmonella isolated from food animals was stronger than that obtained from patients. Experts unanimously called for "antibiotics should be used prudently in the entire society and the entire environment."

“The emergence of drug resistance in less than two years after the listing of new antibiotics”

Wang Minggui, deputy director of the Institute of Antibiotics at Huashan Hospital of Fudan University, used the detailed data analysis in his report “Clinical Infection and Antimicrobial Treatment of Resistant Bacteria”. On the one hand, it is increasingly difficult to find a more effective antibiotic than before. On the other hand, drug resistance has made pharmaceutical companies increasingly unprofitable. This is the two main reasons why antibiotics are poorly developed. “The birth of a new drug usually takes 10 years, and antibiotics are no exception. As a result, the emergence of new antibiotics in less than two years after the emergence of drug resistance, for the pharmaceutical industry, spend the same money and time, it is better to develop some New drug with a longer pay period," said Wang Minggui.

Can't catch the mouse?

If the competition between humans and bacteria is compared to a "cat and mouse" game, "cats" have apparently been fighting for a decade. In the 1980s and 1990s, people ran faster than bacteria and the world average listed three antibiotics each year. Since then, the pace of research and development of new drugs has clearly failed to keep pace with the bacteria's ability to survive and mutate. In 2008, only one antibiotic new drug was born in the world. "Cats cannot catch mice" seems to be more serious in our country.

At present, only two antibiotics in the world are effective against "super bacteria", namely polymyxin and tigecycline. The former has ceased production in China while the latter is in the research and development stage.