treatments Flashcards
antiretroviral drugs
reverse transcriptase inhibitors
protease inhibitors
reverse transcriptase inhibitors
prevent viral rna from making DNA for integration into the host’s genome
protease inhibitors
inhibit proteases which catalyse the cutting of larger proteins into small polypeptides for use in the construction of new viruses
bactericidal
antibiotics which destroy bacteria
bacteriostatic
antibiotics which prevent multiplication of bacteria
host’s immune system can then destroy the pathogens
how antibiotics work
inhibit bacterial cell wall synthesis- leads to lysis (bursting) of cell
disruption of cell membrane- changes permeability and leads to lysis
inhibition of nucleic acid synthesis, transcription and replication- prevents cell division and/or synthesis of enzymes
inhibition of protein synthesis- enzymes not produced
inhibition of specific enzymes found in bacterial cell but not in host
bacterial evolution
quick reproduction of bacteria
very large bacterial populations increase number of cells containing mutations
some mutations will be advantageous- so bacteria are more likely to survive, reproduce and spread (could include antibiotic resistance)
bacteria evolve to disable immune system
conjugation
between one resistant bacterial cell and a non-resistant bacterial cell
one strand of plasmid dna transferred between conjugating bacteria
each bacterium replicated the strand to make a complete plasmid
both bacterial cells now resistant
battling antibiotic resistance
antibiotics only used when needed
patients complete course of antibiotics so all bacteria are destroyed
infection control used in hospitals to prevent bacteria spreading
infection control in hospital
hand wash stations and sign reminders
prevention of ties, watches and long sleeves
more regular cleaning/ disinfection of beds and changing bedding
