Article Summary
Article Summary
Article Summary
In her article, "Antibiotic resistance now 'global threat', WHO warns” (2014), Pippa
Stephens, the health reporter for BBC News reveals that a new health threat is looming with
global impact. Old diseases are resurging, according to a new World Health Organization
(WHO) report, due to their growing resistance to antibiotics. Dr Keiji Fukuda, assistant director-
general at WHO, said “This is posing a major global threat" with the WHO organization calling
The WHO reports they analyzed data from 114 countries, and, in every region, found
antibiotics that had successfully treated infections, were becoming ineffective. Unless urgent
significant action were taken, the implications would be devastating. The report investigated
bacteria that cause diseases, such as pneumonia, diarrhea, and blood infection. In particular, three
antibiotics are already failing to work on half the patients that are treated with them. These are:
infections"2.
B. "antibiotics for E.coli urinary tract infections which had increased from "virtually zero" in the
C. treatment for gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted disease is resistant to antibiotics now “in the
UK, Austria, Australia Canada, France, Japan, Norway, South Africa, Slovenia and Sweden"4.
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1. Stephens, P. Antibiotic resistance now 'global threat', WHO warns ", 2014. Web. 15 May, 2014
<http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27204988>.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
The WHO reports million people daily infected with these diseases. The author of the
article, P. Stephens highlights the authority of the report first by quoting Dr. Keiji Fukuda,
assistant director-general at the WHO, in the first instance. She further quotes chief medical
warming"5.
Accordingly, Dr. Jennifer Cohn, medical director of Medecins sans Frontiers' Access Campaign,
said that they see horrendous rates of antibiotic resistance wherever they look in their field
operations. Pippa Stephens' points out to the fact that the report identifies three reasons for this
scourge. The first given is that bacteria naturally mutate, until they become immune to
antibiotics. This is a basic accepted fact. However, the fact that firstly doctors are over-
prescribing them is accelerating the bacteria's mutation to defend itself much sooner, than would
normally happen. Then, patients are careless with taking the treatment with many not finishing
The WHO says more new antibiotics need to be developed, since antibiotics were one of
the pillars of our health system and governments should take significant actions to improve
efforts to prevent infections and also change how we produce, prescribe and use antibiotics6.
Apart from aggressive development of new antibiotics, the report called for practical
preventative measures, such as hygiene, infection control, condoms and vaccinations. Professor
Nigel Brown, President of the UK Society for General Microbiology, said that it has been vital
_______________
5. Stephens, P. Antibiotic resistance now 'global threat', WHO warns ", 2014. Web. 15 May, 2014
<http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27204988>.
6. Ibid.
Unless governments, scientists and the medical community take "urgent co-ordinated
action" there will be major outbreaks of diseases, once curable, that will kill millions. The article
is clear, authoritative and current, presenting the issue in a fair unbiased manner.
Reference List
Stephens, P. "Antibiotic resistance now 'global threat', WHO warns ".Web. 2014.
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27204988
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