Drug-resistant Diseases

▪ 1994

      Infectious agents continually undergo genetic change. Today, however, this process is being fostered by human behaviour and, ironically, modern medicine. One culprit is the overuse of antibiotics. Some authorities estimate that half of the antibiotics used in the U.S. are unnecessary—the drug prescribed is too powerful, is taken for longer than is necessary, or is not needed at all. Overuse and misuse can lead to the development of drug-resistant bacterial strains, which in turn require more expensive, more toxic alternative drugs.

      The recent resurgence of tuberculosis is a case in point. Effective drug treatment for TB has been available in the developed world since the 1950s, but beginning in the mid-1980s, the disease staged a comeback. Its rise was attributed in part to social factors—increasing poverty, homelessness, substance abuse, and deteriorating health care systems. It was also linked to the AIDS pandemic; because of the effect of the virus on the immune system, people infected with HIV are much more susceptible than others to TB.

      Treatment of TB in 1993 was complicated by the emergence of drug-resistant strains, which have more than doubled in the past 10 years. Classic uncomplicated TB can be cured with a six-month regimen of antibiotics for about $500. The cost of treatment of multiple-drug-resistant (MDR) TB may exceed $180,000. Moreover, such treatment is often ineffective. To successfully eradicate MDR strains, several drugs must be taken simultaneously and over an extended period of time. However, the population most affected by TB—the poor, the homeless, substance abusers, the immunocompromised—is the very group that has the most difficulty complying with a complex, protracted regimen. Interrupted or incomplete treatment allows the infectious organisms to mutate and multiply.

      Drug resistance to TB is not an isolated phenomenon. Resistance to the antimalarial chloroquine by the most virulent malaria parasite was reported in 1961. Even more troubling is the organism's resistance, demonstrated in 1990, to a recently introduced drug that took 17 years to develop. The antiviral acyclovir has been the drug of choice for treatment of herpes simplex virus (HSV) since its approval in 1984. Prior to the AIDS pandemic, resistance to acyclovir was uncommon. However, acyclovir-resistant HSV is now found in HIV-infected patients. Resistance to AZT, used to treat HIV infection itself, appears to develop after six months of use.

      These are only a few examples of the growing numbers of drug-resistant infections. The medical community and public health officials must remain vigilant if they are to keep pace. (ELLEN FINKELSTEIN)

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