Antibiotic Resistance: What Causes It

Antibiotic resistance is the ability of bacteria to resist the effects of an antibiotic. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in some way that reduces or completely eliminates the effectiveness of drugs, chemicals, or other agents designed to cure or prevent infections. The bacteria survive and continue to multiply, therefore causing more harm.
Antibiotic resistance has been called one of the world's most pressing public health problems. Almost every type of bacteria has become stronger and less affected by antibiotic treatment when it is really needed. These antibiotic-resistant bacteria can quickly spread to family members, schoolmates, and co-workers - threatening the community with a new strain of infectious disease that is more difficult to cure and more expensive to treat. Antibiotic resistance can cause significant danger and suffering for children and adults who have common infections, once easily treatable with antibiotics.
A common misconception is that a person's body becomes resistant to specific drugs. However, it is the bacteria, not people, that become resistant to the drugs. If a bacteria is resistant to many drugs, treating the infections it causes can become difficult or even impossible. Someone with a disease that is resistant to a certain antibiotic can pass that resistant disease to another person. In this way, a hard-to-treat illness can be spread from person to person. In some cases, the illness can lead to serious disability or even death.
Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in some way that reduces or eliminates the effectiveness of the antibiotics created to cure the infections or diseases. The bacteria survive and continue to multiply, causing more harm. Antibiotics kill or inhibit the growth of affected bacteria. Sometimes one of the bacteria survives because it has the ability to withstand or escape the effect of the antibiotic. That one bacterium can then multiply and replace all the bacteria that were killed off.
  Antibiotic use encourages the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Every time a person takes antibiotics, the sensitive bacteria are killed, leaving the resistant germs to grow and multiply. Repeated and improper uses of antibiotics are the main causes of the increase in drug-resistant bacteria. While antibiotics should be used to treat bacterial infections, they are not effective against viral infections such as the common cold, most sore throats, and the flu. Widespread use of antibiotics promotes the spread of antibiotic resistance. Smart use of antibiotics is the key to controlling the spread of resistance.