For this writing exercise, I will talk about my personal philosophy on whether or not I would take antibiotics, as well as when I believe it is appropriate to take antibiotics.

I would undoubtedly take antibiotics when prescribed them by my primary care provider and have done so in the past. We discussed in class that taking a two-week course of antibiotics can have consequences on the individual lasting up to a year. Despite this, antibiotics have allowed humans as a race to live significantly longer, as many bacterial infections used to kill many of us before we reached the age of 50.

On the topic of when I believe it is appropriate to take antibiotics, I think they should only be used when it is absolutely known that the infection is bacterial in nature. Taking antibiotics for a viral infection will have negative consequences on the host (i.e., killing off beneficial microbiota in the gut) and has adverse effects ecologically. Taking antibiotics is a risky practice because there is a chance to select antibiotic resistance among the populations in the host. Prokaryotic features such as faster reproduction time and horizontal gene transfer expedite the rate at which resistome genes are spread to other members of the bacterial population. This is seen in the agricultural industry, as discussed in the lecture. Prophylactic feeding of antibiotics to farm animals causes residual to be spread into the water and soil via excrement. This creates physical environments where antibiotic resistance is selected for.