Superbugs: antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, a public health problem

Abstract

Superbugs are strains of bacteria resistant to several types of antibiotics. Their main characteristic is that they
are capable of mutating their DNA throughout generations to become resistant to the most common drugs,
which is why they represent a serious global health problem that has been contributed by the indiscriminate
use of antibiotics, due to poor administration by the doctor, or by the self-medication to which the population
frequently incurs, is added to this the pharmaceutical industry, the cattle ranch and the agriculture.
Objective: To carry out an updated review on the “superbugs”, causes and mechanisms, and the importance
of the emergence of a policy that regulates the indiscriminate use of antibiotics as well as the social and
environmental factors that favor their emergence.
Material and Methods: A bibliographic search was carried out in different databases on the subject of
microbial resistance and referring to “superbugs”.
Results: Only the most relevant original articles were used with respect to the subject in question, whose
date of publication was lower 10 years ago and from them, the most pertinent information was extracted
regarding the subject that concerns us.
Conclusions: One must think about each and every one of the three causes that are at the origin of the
problem (human, animal and industrial) with respect to the emergence of the “superbugs” since doing
nothing will become one of the worst nightmares of Public Health in the years to come.