Resistant Bacteria
Biology: AQA GCSE Higher, topic 6.3.9
Resistant Bacteria
Bacteria reproduce rapidly. Mutations occur during reproduction. This means that bacteria can evolve rapidly.
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).
Example
- An example of an antibiotic resistance bacteria is MRSA.
Antibiotics
- The development of new antibiotics is a slow and costly process.
- It struggles to keep up with the emergence of new strains.
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.
Test yourself on Resistant Bacteria
Why can a new antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria spread easily through a population?
What problem is caused by how slowly new antibiotics are developed?
Why must a patient finish their full course of antibiotics?