Drug-resistant organisms are waging war on one of humanity’s most widely used health measures: anti-biotics.
Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease expert warned in an interview with CTV News on Tuesday that these organisms are already in Canada.
He was responding to a new report from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientists, warning about the spread of “nightmare bacteria.”
“Antibiotics are an incredible tool. They’ve saved countless lives,” he said, but warned about the dangers of over using the drugs.
“We need to have appropriate stewardship over them,” he said, adding they’re “used and abused” every day.
“Nightmare bacteria,” or “super bugs,” are terms used to describe bacteria, fungi, or other pathogens that evolve to resist antibiotics. That makes them harder for medical professionals to combat.
When organisms interact with antibiotics but are not entirely destroyed, it gives them a chance to develop resistance to those drugs.
“We know the bacteria can mutate and change in such a way where the antibiotics are no longer lethal, and it’s been an arms race with humans creating newer antibiotics and bacteria creating resistance to those,” Bogoch explained.
“And we’re going to lose the arms race every time.”
He pointed to the global agriculture industry, and specifically livestock from pigs to sheep to fish, as the primary area where antibiotics are overused.
“About 70 per cent of (antibiotic use) is in agriculture,” he said. “From an agricultural standpoint, it enables animals to grow bigger, but it obviously has significant detrimental effects in the creation of antimicrobial resistance.”
Bogoch highlighted the “One Health” concept — the idea that health care doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Human and animal health are linked. As the World Health Organization explains, “the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and interdependent.”
Over-reliance on antibiotics in animals can give organisms a chance to develop resistance, Bogoch warned, saying those resistant organisms can then jump from animals to humans.

