Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria

Kia Witt

Why are Bacteria Becoming Antibiotic Resistant?

• Doctors liberally prescribe antibiotics, often for infections that could resolve on their own with time

• Many people do not take the full course of antibiotic as prescribed because they feel better after a couple days and see no need to continue use

Pathological Process of Developing Antibiotic Resistance

• When a patient does not take a full course of antibiotics, or antibiotics are prescribed for a trivial illness, the antibiotic kills most of the bacteria.

• If a patient discontinues use before all the bacteria are killed, the few that remain have already been exposed to levels of the antibiotic to become immune, but not die. These bacteria multiply.

• Even if a patient continues the course, natural variation suggests that at least a few bacteria could survive, and possibly reproduce, which is why antibiotics should be used only in cases of real need.

Why is This a Problem?

• 2 million people are infected with antibiotic resistant diseases in the United States each year

• 23,000 people in the United States die each year from antibiotic resistant diseases.

• Many more die from complications arising from these antibiotic resistant bacterial diseases

Common Types of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria

• MRSA- infection commonly acquired in athletic and hospital settings, spread by skin to skin contact

• MDRTB- Multi Drug Resistant Tuberculosis. A more recent development that is predominantly found in impoverished countries where a treatment regimen is not enforced, and the population is not educated on the proper usage of antibiotics

Common Types of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Continued

• Clostridium difficile- This bacterial infection results from an overuse of antibiotics that kill all the good bacteria in the intestines, letting C. difficile to thrive. It is mostly observed in populations with compromised immunity. However, C. difficile is still vulnerable to some classes of antibiotics

• E.coli- Because of the widespread use of antibiotics in farming, common bacteria harbored by animals (like E.coli) are becoming antibiotic resistant. When humans are treated for urinary or intestinal infections caused by E.coli, antibiotics that were used in animals fail.