WITH an antibiotic resistance crisis gaining momentum in Pakistan, the prospect of a looming medical disaster is imminent. Antibiotics designed to fight infections and block the growth of bacteria are no longer working because super bugs have developed resistance over several decades.

Problems with drug resistance are attributed to the misuse and overuse of antibiotics with the mistaken belief that they will help when administered for all kinds of infectious diseases. So why do medical practitioners continue to prescribe antibiotics — especially when not required for viral infections — or misdiagnose symptoms at the risk of increasing drug-resistant bacteria?

In a special report, we examine why antibiotics have become ineffective at an alarming rate; which common infectious diseases are easily misdiagnosed and treated with antibiotics; and why the most resistant bacteria that occur among patients at hospitals are difficult to eradicate.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2017