Antibiotic Resistance: Challenges and Prospect for Therapy in Developing Countries

The hope raised by the discovery of antibiotics has been marred by the emergence of antibiotic resistance. The major reason for this is the inappropriate use of antibiotics due to a lack of uniform policy and disregard to hospital infection control practices. Bacterial infections increase the morbidity and mortality, increase the cost of treatment, and prolong hospital stay adding to the economical burden on the nation. The problem is further compounded by the lack of education and “over the counter” availability of antibiotics in developing countries where no one really has a good idea of the extent of antibiotic resistance, because it hasn’t been monitored in a coordinated fashion and there is no good national system to test for antibiotic resistance. This menace can be managed by a lot of concerted efforts with only a few prescribed in this review study.