Bacteria is known for being bad, even though some bacteria do really beneficial things in our bodies. In concern for bad bacteria, there are antibiotics that destroy them and prevent them from making us severely ill or dying. There are certain antibiotics that work on specific bacteria. But just as humans evolve, so do bacteria. This causes what is named a superbugs, but these superbugs are doing everything but saving people.
Superbugs are bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics that are suppose to destroy them. The bacteria that have this resistance quality then pass their newfound strength onto other bacteria. The biggest explanation for antibiotic resistance comes from people not taking the antibiotics correctly. Sometimes, when people are prescribed antibiotics, they stop taking the medicine when they start to feel better. Because all of the bacteria were not killed, this gives bacteria that have not been killed an opportunity to build resistance and become notorious superbugs. But why can’t genius scientists make an antibiotic that can kill superbugs? The short answer is that there is no time, and there are bigger fish to fry!
One of the biggest problems with superbugs is death. There is nothing that can stop these superbugs from taking over the body and making people gravely ill, often resulting in fatality. For example, CNN covered a story on a 56 year old woman who woke up with diarrhea and died shortly after from Clostridioides difficile or C. diff which is one of the deadliest antibiotic resistant bacteria on the CDC’s urgent list. But answering the question above in more detail, it is now more probable to run away from the superbugs than trying to make a superbug antibiotic and risk the bacteria gaining resistance again, causing an ongoing and more difficult problem. Instead it is more sensible to take precaution like hand washing and practicing good hygiene. It is scary to think that in the future, closer than we think, there could be a big and bad enough superbug that could wipe out the entire population.
Aryana's Microbology Blog 