The Idea of an Essay, Volume 2

196 to use antibiotics properly and assist in proper sanitation efforts. If doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and patients do all they can at the practical level in hospitals, antibiotics will stay useful when they are truly necessary, and MDR bacterial superbugs will not run rampant. Although many in modern American society are ignorant to the modern danger of bacterial infection and disease, experts agree that it is a serious problem. Human health is fast approaching the edge of a cliff. As more bacterial infections mutate and become invincible to current antibiotics, modern medicine must answer the call and provide workable solutions for them. If humans do not want to experience another plague reminiscent of the Middle Ages, experts say something must change. While researchers continue their important search for new cures which may or may not exist, medical professionals and patients must understand the real danger of antibiotic resistance and work together to stop it by cutting off transmission in the hospital setting and by properly using the antibiotics that are currently available. A concerted effort on everyone’s part, doctor, patient, and researcher alike, is necessary if humanity is to outlive pathogenic bacteria. Works Cited Arias, Cesar A, and Barbara E Murray. “Antibiotic-Resistant Bugs in the 21st Century--AClinical Super-Challenge.” The New England Journal of Medicine 360.5 (2009): 439-443. Web. 22 Sept. 2013. Bugl, Paul. “History of Epidemics and Plagues.” University of Hartford. Oct. 2001. Web. 1 Oct. 2013. Butler, Toby. “Extermination: Utilizing Risk Management To Quash ‘Super Bugs.’” Oklahoma Nurse 55.1 (2010): 13. Web. 22 Sept. 2013. Casey, Georgina. “Antibiotics and the Rise Of Superbugs.” Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand 18.10 (2012): 20-24. Web. 20 Sept. 2013. CDC Office of Infectious Diseases (OID). “Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States 2013.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2013. Web. 28 Sept. 2013. Dugal, S., and S. Chakraborty. “Biogenic Synthesis of Nanosilver and itsAntibacterial EffectAgainst Resistant GramNegative Pathogens.” International Journal Of Pharmacy &