Why antibiotics are like fossil fuels
The article explores the parallels between antibiotics and fossil fuels, highlighting the unsustainable overuse of both. It notes that the problem of antibiotic resistance was recognized soon after their widespread introduction in the 1950s, as natural selection favored microbes that could survive the medication. Today, this concern has become a reality, with the UN warning of antibiotic resistance as a major global health threat. The article estimates that resistance already kills over a million people annually, and this number is expected to grow as new antibiotics are not being discovered fast enough to keep up with the pace of resistance. The article suggests that like fossil fuels, antibiotics need to be harnessed in a more sustainable manner to address this pressing global health challenge.
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