According to a new study from researchers at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, antibiotics are becoming less and less effective in curing illness. The study lasted for 20 years, and it used data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, one of the United Kingdom's largest primary care organizations. As the study went on, researchers noticed antibiotics prescribed by primary care doctors were working less each year. The average rate of failure rose from 13.9 percent in 1991 to 15.4 percent in 2012.
"One example of this rise can be observed in the failure rates of trimethoprim, normally used to treat upper respiratory tract infections, which had risen 40% across the treatment period," reports MNT. The researchers claim antibiotics are becoming less effective as doctors rely on them for treatment more and microbes adapt to survive their effects.
"Without urgent, co-ordinated action by many stakeholders, the world is headed for a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades can once again kill," said Dr Keiji Fukuda of the World Health Organization in April of this year. Fukuda says the threat applies to all countries, not just countries with less access to medical care.
Many reports also show that the amount of antibiotics coincidentally ingested by eating the meat of animals who were treated with antibiotics has added to the lessening their effectivness.