{"id":5750,"date":"2018-07-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-07-23T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lto.local\/articles\/antibiotic-resistance-in-bacteria\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T21:03:59","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T05:03:59","slug":"antibiotic-resistance-bacteria","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.testing.com\/articles\/antibiotic-resistance-bacteria\/","title":{"rendered":"Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria"},"content":{"rendered":"
What is antibiotic resistance?<\/h2>\n
Antibiotic resistance is when bacteria are able to survive and grow in the presence of one or more antibiotics. When this occurs, the resistant bacteria continue to cause infection. Bacterial antibiotic resistance is a specific type of antimicrobial drug resistance. Other microbes, like viruses and fungi, can also become resistant to antimicrobial drugs used to treat infections with these microbes, but this article focuses on bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.<\/p>\n
The development of resistance commonly occurs in nature. However, because of the routine use of antibiotics, bacterial exposure to antibiotics is more frequent and resistance develops at a faster rate. Without effective antibiotics, common infections such as bacterial pneumonia, would become life-threatening once again. Complex procedures, such as open-heart surgery, would become much more dangerous and deaths from infection more common.<\/p>\n
What are antibiotics?<\/h3>\n
Antibiotics are drugs used to treat bacterial infections. They are among the most commonly prescribed drugs for people. They target bacteria by inhibiting or stopping their growth, or by killing the bacteria.<\/p>\n
Penicillin was the first antibiotic discovered. Alexander Fleming discovered it in 1928. It was used widely during World War II. However, the sulfonamides were the first antibiotic class used clinically (in the 1930’s). The discovery of antibiotics revolutionized medicine by making once-deadly infections treatable. There are now hundreds of antibiotics, classified into several categories. These antibiotic classes include:<\/p>\n
\n
Penicillins<\/li>\n
Cephalosporins<\/li>\n
Carbapenems<\/li>\n
Aminoglycosides<\/li>\n
Tetracyclines<\/li>\n
Macrolides<\/li>\n
Fluoroquinolones<\/li>\n
Sulfonamides<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Antibiotics work in different ways. For example, penicillin works by indirectly causing the bacterium’s cell wall to weaken and burst, so it dies. Tetracyclines, on the other hand, do not kill bacteria but inhibit their growth by stopping the bacteria from making proteins.<\/p>\n
Some antibiotics can be used to treat a broad range of infections, while others are used to treat infections caused by specific types of bacteria. Most antibiotics can cause some side effects (e.g., stomach upset, diarrhea), though some have a higher risk of causing serious side effects (e.g., hearing damage, kidney damage).<\/p>\n
Healthcare practitioners typically choose an antibiotic to treat an infection based on the type of infection, a person’s medical history (such as allergies to antibiotics), and often laboratory tests that can determine the bacterium causing disease and which antibiotic will work best. It is important for patients to follow instructions when taking antibiotics so that their infections are treated effectively and to help prevent the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.<\/p>\n
How do bacteria become resistant to antibiotics?<\/h3>\n
There are several ways for bacteria to become antibiotic-resistant. The main one is through selective pressure. Selective pressure happens when not all the bacteria are susceptible to the antibiotic used to treat the infection, and the surviving bacteria can continue to multiply. This creates a bacterial population that is resistant to the antibiotic to which the bacteria was exposed. Selective pressure is a natural process that can be slowed but not stopped. Antibiotic overuse helps speed up selection for resistant bacteria.<\/p>\nSource: Melissa Brower, CDC<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/p>\n
Bacteria can also acquire resistance when they pass genetic material back and forth from one bacteria to another. One way they can do this is through plasmids. Plasmids are pieces of bacterial DNA that can be transferred between bacteria. Some plasmids enable the bacteria to produce an enzyme that can make antibiotics useless. When the plasmid is inserted into other bacteria, antibiotic resistance can spread easily and quickly among bacteria.<\/p>\n
Additionally, when a bacterium’s genetic material spontaneously changes, or mutates, those genetic changes can create resistance. Over time, bacteria can acquire more than one type of resistance through different mechanisms. This can lead to so-called “superbugs” that are resistant to multiple antibiotic classes. Antibiotic resistant bacteria can spread from one person to another (e.g., through touching contaminated surfaces, coughing or sneezing), resulting in the spread of hard-to-treat or untreatable infections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Antibiotic resistance is when bacteria are able to survive and grow in the presence of one or more antibiotics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5752,"menu_order":0,"template":"","tags":[],"keyword":[11161],"class_list":["post-5750","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","keyword-featured"],"acf":{"city":"","state":""},"yoast_head":"\n
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