Picture

Antibiotic resistance often occurs when populations of bacteria change enough to resist previously effective antibiotics. Using antibiotics unwisely or too frequently can cause the issue. And people who insist on trying this type of medicine to treat their viral illnesses are courting disaster:


​So wondrous the promise of medical advances
That salve the ills of everyday man,
We grasp with hope beyond all chances
At last a glimpse of panacea land.

And so it's been with antibiotics,
Which now too often taken are.
Spectacular success against bacteria
Must surely mean that none shall bar.

Yet viruses block these perfect marvels
Of modern treatment proudly shared.
Like magical shield that shifts and baffles,
They dazzle the foe as long as dared.

The same is true with illnesses viral, 
Like common colds and runny nose,
And sore throat standard, not streptococcal,
Most coughs, most flu, including flows.

To antibiotics, this war is loathsome,
Collateral damage their only whip.
They clear away bacteria welcome, 
Leave space for others, re-equip.

The virus runs its course no matter,
Bacteria—only the fittest survive.
Bacterial resistance advances, gets fatter,
If antibiotic misusage we drive.
​