29/01/2026
Understanding Medication Resistance: Why It Happens and How We Can Prevent It.
Medication resistance, especially antibiotic resistance, is one of the biggest silent health threats facing Ghana today. It happens when germs like bacteria, viruses, or parasites stop responding to the medicines designed to kill them. When this happens, common infections become harder to treat, stay longer in the body, and may even become life-threatening. This is not a distant problem. It is happening every day in our hospitals.
A Real Example From a Patient’s Blood Culture Report
The attached image shows a blood culture and sensitivity report showing growth of Klebsiella, a type of bacteria commonly found in hospitals and even in our environment.
In the report, almost every antibiotic tested shows “RESISTANT.”
This means the bacteria no longer respond to medicines that used to work just a few years ago.
The comment on the report confirms it:
“Multi-drug resistant gram-negative bacteria…”
This is exactly the kind of situation that threatens treatment success and increases hospital stays, costs, and complications.
This is why understanding medication resistance is so important.
What Is Medication Resistance?
Medication resistance simply means:
The medicine is still the same… but the germ has changed.
Bacteria and other microorganisms naturally evolve. If medicines are misused or overused, these germs get “smarter” and learn how to survive the treatment. Once that happens, stronger, more expensive, or more dangerous medicines may be required.
What Causes Medication (Antibiotic) Resistance?
Below are some common causes, especially in Ghana:
1. Not finishing prescribed medicines
Stopping treatment because “I feel better” leaves some germs alive.
Those surviving germs are the ones that later become resistant.
2. Buying antibiotics over the counter without a prescription
This is one of the biggest contributors to antibiotic resistance. This is because people take medicines that are not meant for their condition, the wrong dose, or for the wrong number of days.
3. Sharing medicines with friends and family
This spreads misuse and creates resistant germs in the community.
4. Using leftover antibiotics at home
These doses are usually incomplete and ineffective.
5. Using antibiotics for non-bacterial illnesses
Colds, flu, most coughs, and many cases of diarrhoea are not caused by bacteria.
Antibiotics do not help, but they still increase resistance when misused.
6. Poor infection prevention practices in the community
Dirty water, poor hygiene, and overcrowded environments spread infections faster, forcing more people to use antibiotics.
7. Poor hospital infection control
When hospital surfaces and instruments are not properly cleaned, resistant germs spread between patients.
Why Medication Resistance Is Dangerous
Medication-resistant infections:
Are harder to treat
- Keep people in the hospital for longer periods
- May require stronger, more expensive medicines
- Increase risk of severe illness or death
- Spread easily to others in homes and communities
This is why the bacteria in the shared report is a serious example, it resisted nearly all the regular antibiotics.
How We Can Prevent Medication Resistance
Here are simple, practical steps everyone in Ghana can follow:
âś… Only take medicines prescribed by a qualified healthcare provider
Never self-medicate; go to the hospital.
âś… Always complete the full course of treatment
Even when you start feeling better.
âś… Never buy antibiotics over the counter without a prescription
It is dangerous.
âś… Do not share or use leftover medicines
Your infection may not be the same as someone else’s.
âś… Practice good hygiene
Wash hands regularly, clean wounds promptly, and keep surroundings clean.
âś… Use antibiotics only when necessary
Not every fever needs antibiotics.
âś… Hospitals must strengthen infection prevention
Good hand hygiene, sterilisation, and clean environments reduce resistant germs.
âś… Public education
People need to understand that antibiotics are not “strong painkillers”, they are powerful medicines that should be protected.
In Summary
Medication resistance is real, and the shared report proves that.
A bacteria that used to be easy to treat is now resisting almost everything. If we continue abusing medicines, we may soon face infections that no medicine can treat.
But this is preventable.
Using medicines wisely, improving hygiene, and following medical advice can protect all of us from resistant infections.
By a licensed healthcare provider (for public education).
