Antibiotic resistance: evolution and alternatives

Globally, infection control has been challenged by the rapid advent and dissemination of antibiotic resistant microorganisms. The 70-odd years’ history of post antibiotic era has shown that despite the fitness cost, microorganisms will continue to evolve and we now face a never-ending battle of bacterial resistance against the antibiotics of last resort that we have at our disposal. In this article, we give a brief overview of the discovery of antibiotics, the emergence of antibiotic resistance, and the alternative strategies that can be sought for the treatment of infections caused by multidrug resistant bacteria.