Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
Medicines have become an element of surprise and a cause of concern. This is because they have begun to aggravate diseases instead of curing them. No one has a solution. The doctors are perplexed and the patients are annoyed. The outcome of intensive research and in-depth studies has startled everyone. These dings Show that unnecessary use of medicines has created a trend in which hilly take medicines for every small ailment, but also advise others to do so. This habit is now a fashion, a passion and a mark of being educated and aware. Sometimes, it is even considered a status symbol. People think that they should take strong drugs, irrespective of whether the disease is minor or major. Nowadays, a shelf of medicines is found iri every house.
This practice is not merely confined to general medicines, but has now spread even to antibiotics. The literal meaning of the word antibiotics is – ‘against life’. In fact, due to their misuse, they have really begun acting against our life. Experts, say the necessary consumption of antibiotics is increasing the longevity of the microbes oh the 0he hand,
while adversely affecting the patient’s health on the other. This is because due to the overuse of these medicines, the resistance of micro organisms is increasing, while the immunity of the individuals is decreasing. The medical experts have now begun to accept openly that neither the doctors refrain from prescribing the antibiotics for even simple ailments, nor the patients observe restraint in consuming them.
It is a matter of concern that these medicines are used excessively without understanding their side effects. Recently the World Health Organization has also issued an advisory to the Southeast Asian countries, including India. It. has warned that if the unrestricted use of antibiotics continues, the coming times may witness a substantial rise in the number of deaths occurring due to ‘microbial resistance.’ Antibiotics either destroy the disease-causing bacteria completely or prohibit their growth.
However, their prolonged use gives rise to mutation in the bacteria, which makes them resistant towards these drugs. Consequently, they stop having any effect on them. This situation is termed by medical experts as microbial resistance’. Various researches and studies carried out in this context also lead to the conclusion that medicines are becoming poisonous.
The chief cause of this situation is the unrestrained use of antibiotics. Studies have revealed the sometimes strong antibiotics are taken even for treating simple problems.
(i) Why have medicines become an element of surprise?
(ii) What is the adverse effect of overuse of antibiotics?
(iii) What is warned by WHO?
(iv) What do antibiotics do with the disease-causing bacteria?
(v) Find the similar word for ‘considerable’ and antonym for ‘restricted’ from the passage.
