Preface

Antibiotic resistance is a global issue and a public health emergency worldwide. The misuse of antibiotics in the human, animal, food, and agricultural sectors has exacerbated the current crisis. Globally, the rapid emergence of resistant bacteria jeopardizes the efficacy of antibiotics, which have revolutionized medicine and saved millions of lives. Bacterial infections have reemerged decades after the first patients were treated with antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance has been attributed to overuse and misuse of these medications as well as a lack of new drug development by the pharmaceutical industry because of diminished economic incentives and onerous regulatory requirements. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified several bacteria as posing urgent, serious, and concerning threats, with many already imposing significant clinical and financial burdens on the United States' healthcare system, patients, and families. Similarly, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a five-point global action plan to combat antimicrobial resistance and coordinate the efforts of numerous international sectors. Coordinated efforts to implement new policies, reinvest in research, and pursue crisis management strategies are critical. We now face a long-term and possibly never-ending battle against multidrug-resistant bacteria. A more comprehensive approach to bacterial infection is required, which may include non-compound approaches (products other than conventional antibacterial agents) that target bacteria or any approach that targets the host such as antibodies, probiotics, phytobiotics, and vaccines, all of which are discussed in this book.

The editors express their sincere appreciation to all the authors who contributed to this book for their hard work and dedication, as well as to the IntechOpen editorial team for allowing us to complete this project.

> **Guillermo Tellez-Isaias**  Department of Poultry Science, University of Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Fayetteville, AR, USA

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**Chapter 1**

*Guillermo Tellez-Isaias*

to all antibiotics known by man.

alternatives to conventional antibacterial agents.

quantities of the drug make them resistant" [4].

developing novel antibacterial medication difficult.

need for newer agents to enter the market.

[2] and the continuous abuse and misuse of antibiotics [3].

**1. Introduction**

Introductory Chapter: The

Antibiotic Resistance Epidemic

Antibiotic resistance is a global problem that has triggered a global human and animal health crisis worldwide. Antibiotics have changed the face of medicine and saved millions of lives, but resistant bacteria are threatening their usefulness. The pharmaceutical industry is experiencing a shortage of new drug development due to declining economic incentives and demanding regulatory requirements. Governing agencies worldwide have identified several "super-bugs," bacteria resistant

A more comprehensive approach to bacterial infection is required, including

Alexander Fleming recognized the phenomena of resistance to antimicrobial agents, by the misuse of antibiotics, in 1945 when he stated, "The time may come when anyone in the shops can buy penicillin. Then there is the danger that the ignorant man may easily under-dose himself and by exposing his microbes to nonlethal

In the absence of novel and more potent drugs, we risk a future where minor injuries and illnesses can be fatal and essential operations like surgery and chemotherapy become unmanageable. Antimicrobial resistance poses a serious threat to our way of life and could lead to a global pandemic if we don't act to combat it. Longer hospital stays and higher medical costs are now the results of antimicrobial resistance [5]. Antibiotic resistance is eroding our ability to treat bacterial illnesses. Infections resistant to most, if not all, current medicines are becoming common. The nature of significant acute bacterial infections and the economic realities of this field makes

Because of the induction, amplification, and transmission of aspects of antimicrobial resistance among microbes, adequate management of a novel antibacterial agent is required for both the patient and the community when a new antibacterial agent is introduced. Furthermore, most antibiotic treatment regimens are brief (sometimes lasting only a week or two), and antimicrobial management aims to reduce the use of broader spectrum agents whenever possible to retain their usefulness, lowering the

Several antibiotics were discovered from the 1950s to the 1970s to cure previously incurable diseases, including tuberculosis and syphilis [1]. Since then, no new antibiotic classes have been discovered, which is concerning given the bacterial resiliency

## **Chapter 1**
