How to prevent

AntibioticResistance?

Proper prescription of
antibiotics is essential.

Completing a prescription;
missing a dose or ceasing to
take the medication due to
feeling better, allows
dormant resistant bacteria to
multiply.

Ingesting antibiotics only for

bacterial infections;
consuming antibiotics has an
effect on all bacteria in the
body and unnecessary
consumption may
unintentionally create
resistance.

Taking over the counter drugs

or household remedies prior to
seeking an antibiotic
prescription.

Not saving previous

prescriptions for future use.

AntibioticResistance
What you need to
know
Frequently asked questions.

For further information:

http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/
http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/about.html
http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/protecting_
yourself_family.html
http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/pdf/antibiot
ic-stewardship.pdf
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/10
278.php

Who is at most risk?

What is Antibiotic-Resistance?

Antibiotics- What are they?

Antibiotics are a form of drug or medicine
used to target microorganisms that invade
a host to reproduce. Antibiotics were first
created in the 1930s with the first being
penicillin. Antibiotics are used to either destroy
bacterial cells known as bactericidal, another
type are bacteriostatic, these restrict bacteria
from multiplying, allowing the immune system
to dispose of the invaders. Antibiotics were
considered the wonder drug due to their
outstanding benefits with few downsides.
Negative aspects attributed to antibiotic drugs
are the possibility of diarrhea or growth of
fungal infections due to a weakened immune
system. Initially these were the only side effects
associated with antibiotics, resulting in their
overuse, in turn revealing their greatest flaw.
The largest weakness associated with antibiotics
is the risk of bacterial resistance. Due to the
population becoming so dependent on
antibiotics, the possibility of antibiotics losing
their effectiveness would produce a grim fate.

Antibiotic-resistance is the product of the overuse

of drugs to treat bacterial infections. Resistance
emerges in bacteria in multiple ways, one is when
a host ingests a drug. When a drug is ingested in
the presence of the bacteria, the antibiotic
eliminates the majority of the bacterial cells.
Antibiotics rarely remove all bacterial cells with a
single dose, therefore the bacteria that survived the
effects of the drugs are able to thrive. Revealing
that the antibiotic had lost its effectiveness against
the specific cell, this could be caused by a genetic
mutation within the bacterial cell. A genetic
mutation is due to a selective pressure imposed by
the drugs inhibiting or eliminating all weaker
bacterial cells.

Viral Vs. Bacterial infections?

The primary difference between viral and bacterial
infections in terms of antibiotics are that,
antibiotics have no effect on viruses. This is due to
antibiotics targeting the machinery or growth
factors within bacteria, due to viruses consisting of
different forms of genetic information such as
double stranded RNA, antibiotics have no effects.

While the entire population of the world is at

risk of contracting antibiotic-resistant bacteria,
the young and old are more prone to these
infections. The young and old are far more prone
to being infected due to a weakened immune
system. People with a condition such as
Acquired Immune Deficiency syndrome (AIDS)
would also be at a greater risk.

Is there concern for future

generations?
Future generations are at great risk, this is due to
the continuous spread of antibiotic resistance
among bacteria. Resistance can be spread among
bacteria within a host, creating new hybrids as
bacterial DNA intermingle. Resistant bacteria is
far more complex and troublesome to manage,
due to being either entirely immune or
insusceptible to current medication. Other
reasons why antibiotic resistance could pose
threats in the future, are that without proper
treatment surgery or amputation may be needed
to cutoff bacterial spread. Lastly, cross mutations
between bacterial infections could cause cross
contamination among species. Cross
contamination would result in super bugs
which would infect other species such as birds,
becoming far more versatile and spread at an