Antibiotic misuse Antibiotic misuse Antibiotic misuse, sometimes called antibiotic abuse or antibiotic overuse, refers to the misuse or overuse of antibiotics, with potentially serious effects on health. It is a contributing factor to the development of antibiotic resistance, including the creation of multidrug-resistant bacteria, informally called "super bugs": relatively harmless bacteria (such as staphylococcus, enterococcus and acinetobacter) can develop resistance to multiple antibiotics and cause life-threatening infections. Antibiotics have been around since 1928 when penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming. In the 1980s, antibiotics that were determined medically important for treatment of animals could be approved under veterinary oversight. In 1996, the
Antibiotic use in livestock of antibiotic usage in livestock transferring to humans has been well documented for over 40 years. It was first documented in 1976, where a study followed a novel antibiotic being used in livestock. The bacteria in animals and workers were regularly followed to record translational effects. The findings revealed that within 2 weeks, the bacteria found in the guts of animals fed antibiotics were resistant to the new antibiotic. Additionally, the resistant bacteria had spread to farm's laborers within 6 months. The bacteria in the stool of the laborers were tested and contained more than 80% resistance to the initial