Back to 课程

Biology AS CIE

0% Complete
0/0 Steps
  1. 1-cell-structure
    10 主题
  2. 2-biological-molecules
    19 主题
  3. 3-enzymes
    13 主题
  4. 4-cell-membranes-and-transport
    16 主题
  5. 5-the-mitotic-cell-cycle
    8 主题
  6. 6-nucleic-acids-and-protein-synthesis
    9 主题
  7. 7-transport-in-plants
    11 主题
  8. 8-transport-in-mammals
    16 主题
  9. 9-gas-exchange
    6 主题
  10. 10-infectious-diseases
    6 主题
  11. 11-immunity
    10 主题
课 10, 主题 1
In Progress

10-2-antibiotics AS consequences-of-antibiotic-resistance

课 Progress
0% Complete

Exam code:9700

Consequences of antibiotic resistance

  • Antibiotic-resistant strains are a major problem in human medicine

    • Incidence of resistance is increasing due to antibiotic use in humans and in livestock farming when they are not needed

    • By using antibiotics frequently, a selection pressure is exerted on the bacteria

      • This drives selection for resistant individuals

  • Commonly prescribed antibiotics are becoming less effective against some bacterial strains

  • Some strains of bacteria can be resistant to multiple antibiotics, making diseases very difficult to treat

    • These bacteria are commonly known as superbugs

    • The most common example is a strain of Staphylococcus aureus that has developed resistance to an antibiotic called methicillin, and is now known as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)

  • Infections caused by resistant strains of bacteria often need to be treated using multiple antibiotics

    • This results in complicated and expensive treatments that may not be available to all

Reducing antibiotic resistance and its impact

  • Ways to prevent the incidence of antibiotic resistance include:

    • tighter controls in countries where antibiotics are sold without a prescription

    • doctors prescribing antibiotics only when needed, e.g. antibiotics not being used for viral infections

    • avoiding the blanket use of ‘wide-spectrum’ antibiotic, and instead prescribing specific antibiotics for different types of infection

    • tighter control of antibiotics in agriculture

  • The spread of already-resistant strains can be limited by:

    • ensuring good hygiene practices, such as handwashing and the use of hand sanitisers, especially in clinical environments

    • isolating infected patients to prevent the spread of resistant strains, in particular in surgical wards where MRSA can infect surgical wounds

  • Scientists need to find new antibiotics to which bacteria have not yet been exposed, as well as antibiotic alternatives

    • However, this process is expensive and time-consuming

Responses

您的邮箱地址不会被公开。 必填项已用 * 标注