Antimicrobial Resistance Flashcards
what are antimicrobials?
all agents that act against microorganisms
what is antibiotic resistance?
the ability of bacteria to protect itself from the effects of an antibiotic
what is an antibiotic?
a drug that kills or inhibits the growth of bacteria
what does it mean if a bacteria is multi-drug resistant (MDR)?
it is not susceptible to at least one agent in three or more antimicrobial categories
what does it mean if a bacteria is extremely drug resistant (XDR)?
it is not susceptible to at least one agent in all but two or less antimicrobial categories
what does it mean if a bacteria is pan drug resistant (PDR)?
it is not susceptible to any agents in any antimicrobial class
what are the two main ways that antibiotic resistance can be acquired?
vertical transmission
horizontal transmission
describe vertical transmission
bacteria accumulates resistant mutations and then passes them to subsequent generations
describe horizontal transmission
resistant genes are swapped from one microbe to another
what are the three mechanisms for horizontal transmission?
transformation
transduction
conjugation
what is transformation?
when bacteria scavenge resistant genes from dead bacteria and integrate them into their own genomes
what is transduction?
when resistant genes are transferred by bacteriophages
what are bacteriophages?
viruses that infect bacteria
what is conjugation?
when genes are transferred between bacterial cells through pilli
