Survivors of antibiotic resistance tell their experiences with this dangerous health problem

Mark
Written By Mark

Antibiotic resistance, which is often underestimated, is expected to claim the lives of 39 million people in the next quarter of this century, and before a high-level meeting yesterday, Thursday, on the sidelines of the United Nations negotiations in New York, three survivors of this health problem spoke about their experiences to Agence France-Presse.

In October 2020, vet John Kariuki Muhia slipped in his bathroom in Nairobi, Kenya, and broke his hip, so he underwent surgery to put pins in his joint.

“Immediately after the operation, I became very sick,” he says. He was given a whole series of antibiotics, but to no avail. The same scenario happened after the staples were removed. His doctors feared he would die. At that point he contracted Covid, and he says, “I was fighting to survive.”

After five months in hospital, he returned home but remained bedridden. He believes that he was “lucky” because he had previously studied antimicrobial resistance, and suspected that he was facing it.

He conducted an antibiotic allergy test on 18 different antibiotics, and it turned out that he was allergic to one of them. In November 2021, he was announced cured.

But he became “disabled for life”, as his right leg shortened by approximately 8 centimetres. “We are all at risk,” Mohia says, calling for action to confront this health problem.

For Anthony Darkovich, it all started in the early 2000s while playing baseball when he tore the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, a relatively “non-serious” injury in doctors’ opinion, says the 34-year-old, who now lives in… In New York.

Dangerous resistance to antibiotics

He underwent a series of surgeries to return his shoulder to normal and stop the pain. Before each operation, he was given common antibiotics to prevent any possible infection. After the seventh operation, doctors discovered an antibiotic-resistant infection in his shoulder. “Each operation led to an increase in the spread of infection,” he says.

Darkovich underwent 12 other health interventions to remove “infected materials,” including Braga and cartilage. His joint was “completely destroyed”, his shoulder was replaced and a prosthetic was put in its place. He hopes that one day he will be able to “raise his arm to shoulder height.”

His condition differs from many other cases because the bacteria that affected his shoulder are usually benign and cause acne on the skin. But as it became resistant to antibiotics, it spread into the joint and caused damage.

“We are in a world where we can often treat many types of infections very effectively, but with antibiotic resistance, that scenario no longer exists,” says Darkovich, who has become an advocate for patients with antibiotic-resistant infections.

Swelling in the neck

Bhakti Chavan had recently finished her studies in Bombay, India, in 2017 when she noticed swelling in her neck. Her doctor prescribed her antibiotics, but the swelling did not diminish, according to this 30-year-old researcher.

After running some tests, she was diagnosed with drug-resistant tuberculosis, a common and dangerous form of disease that is resistant to antibiotics.

A set of medications that she took in two stages did not improve her health, but she was able to obtain two new medications through Doctors Without Borders. The side effects, which were often distressing, plunged her into depression, and the “stigma” associated with TB discouraged her from talking about her condition.

After two years of treatment with eight different antibiotics, including “painful daily injections for eight months,” Chavan is in good health.

But she is concerned that people, including doctors, do not give much importance to the risk of antibiotic resistance.

“This health problem can happen to anyone,” she warns.