For the most part, medical science is handling these pests, and we can do our part to fend them off, too. The drug-resistant bacteria boom may be due to antibiotic misuse. Researchers estimate that as many as 50 percent of prescribed antibiotics are misused or unnecessary. When people take superfluous antibiotics, bacteria have more time to develop a resistance to the medications. Failing to take a full course of drugs also contributes to antibiotic resistance.
Many people stop taking their antibiotics when they begin to feel better.
Often, the antibiotics have killed only some of the bacteria. But some organisms may survive the shortened course of drugs, and those bacteria will grow back stronger. Taking the full course of the prescription will destroy as many bacteria as possible and keep these survivors to a minimum. Hospitals also help by regulating antibiotic use, and scientists are helping by developing new antibiotics. Synercid is one example of a new class of antibiotics called streptogamins.