6.3.9

Resistant Bacteria

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Resistant Bacteria

Bacteria reproduce rapidly. Mutations occur during reproduction. This means that bacteria can evolve rapidly.

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Resistant strain of bacteria

  • If a mutated bacterial pathogen is resistant to antibiotics, when a person is treated with antibiotics, the bacteria will survive and go on to reproduce.
  • This bacteria is the original ancestor of a new resistant strain.
  • This bacteria will spread, as there will be no treatment for it, and people are not immune to it (as they were previously treated with antibiotics).
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Example

  • An example of an antibiotic resistance bacteria is MRSA.
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Antibiotics

  • The development of new antibiotics is a slow and costly process.
  • It struggles to keep up with the emergence of new strains.
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Reducing new resistant strains

  • Measures must be taken to reduce the emergence of new antibiotic resistance strains:
    • Doctors should avoid prescribing antibiotics unnecessarily, for example for treating non-serious or viral infections.
    • Patients must finish a course of antibiotics to make sure that all of the bacteria are killed.
    • The use of antibiotics in agriculture (for example, cattle feed), should be restricted.

Jump to other topics

1Cell Biology

1.1What's in Cells?

1.2Cell Division

1.3Transport in Cells

2Organisation

2.1Principles of Organisation

2.2Enzymes

2.3Circulatory System

2.4Non-Communicable Diseases

2.5Plant Tissues, Organs & Systems

3Infection & Response

4Bioenergetics

5Homeostasis & Response

5.1Homeostasis

5.2The Human Nervous System

5.3Hormonal Coordination in Humans

5.4Plant Hormones

6Inheritance, Variation & Evolution

7Ecology

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