I believe the blame is not only on doctors and patients (with all those scenarios you described) but also on pharmaceutical companies who should have ensured that such misuse of a drug does not happen. There seems to be no going back here, our best attempts would be to communicate this problem. And kudos for that.

http://sea.battle.net/sc2/en/game/lore/short-stories/broken-wide/1

“Nature doesn’t just adapt. Nature cheats, changes the rules, and slips out the back door with your wallet while you’re still trying to figure out what happened.”

There is a lot that we can do about it.
As a doctor, to curtail the use of unnecessary antibiotics. Do detailed clinical examinations, intelligent investigations, and actually look at a C/S report, to use the antibiotics. When Chloroquine would suffice, why use artemesin? ( in non chloroquin resistant cases, of course)
As patients- we can learn not to self medicate, not stop treatment abruptly, not self diagnose simple viral infections, I have detailed everything in the post. The reasons are there- its obvious what we should do about it.

As far as OTC drugs are concerned- serious action has to be taken. But in a country like India- I dont see that happening very soon. The same goes for spurious drugs as well. As long as people are selfish, thinking only about themselves and the profit that comes from it, its going to be a menace.

Like it was pointed out by Shivprasad- this is very much like global warming, and over exploitation of natural resources.

What about the over-the-counter drugs?

@ ShivPrasad
The butterfly effect, indeed. Its hard to believe that little drops of water make the mighty ocean. They keep collecting, its additive, and before you realise it, the damage is done, the situation pretty much out of control. All this is in retrospect. Who would have thought all this through when antibiotics were first discovered? Even knowledge and discovery has its adverse effects!

Very interesting post and remarkably accessible , given the technical nature of the topic. Reading your post made me wonder about two things. Little things we do have an impact way beyond our immediate comprehension or foresight. Like the popular axiom of chaos theory- the flapping of the wings of a butterfly can cause a typhoon in some other part of the world. The other is that the super bug is symptomatic of the general human condition, as evidenced in problems like global warming and over exploitation of natural resources. We find ourselves incapable of abstracting our selves enough from our immediate needs and reflect on our actions will impact the world as whole and future generations.

I particularly like the observation that because of the advent of Internet, many people chose to just read stuff off the net (including some specialists), to find ‘obvious’ solutions instead of consulting the medicos.

Having myself suffered the consequences, I believe that it is important that people do not ‘self medicate’ themselves through Internet, especially for serious ailments and rely on the advise of a trusted professional only.