Antibiotic resistance Flashcards
How bacteria evolves and becomes antibiotic resistant 1-3
1) Bacteria develops random mutations in their DNA which leads to changes in their characteristic e.g less affected by particular antibiotic -> antibiotic resistant strains
2) forms as the gene for antibiotic resistance becomes more common in the population
3) Bacteria rapid at reproducing and evolve quite quickly
How bacteria evolves and becomes antibiotic resistant 4
4) For the bacterium the ability to resist antibiotics is a big advantage, better able to survive even in a host that’s being treated to get rid of infection.
- Lives for longer, reproduces many times and increases population size of the anti-biotic resistant strain
Problem of antibiotics
In the past we have treated bacterial infections using antibiotics -> death rate from infectious bacterial disease has fall
However antibiotic resistance increased due to overuse and misuse of antibiotics
Does the antibiotics actually cause the resistance ?
No - They create a situation where naturally resistant bacteria have an advantage so increase in size
Ways to prevent antibiotic resistance
- Take all the antibiotics a doctor prescribes you
- take the full course to make sure all bacteria is destroyed and none is left to mutate and develop into antibiotic resistant strains
Use of antibiotics in farming
Given to animal to prevent them from becoming ill and make them grow faster -> development of antibiotic resistant bacteria which can spread to humans
Leads to concerns about overuse of antibiotics in agriculture -> some countries restricting their use
What has the increase in antibiotic resistance encouraged
drug companies to develop antibiotics that are effective against resistant strains
Rate of development is slow and unlikely to keep up with the demand for new drugs as more antibiotic resistant strains develop and spread = costly process
