Resistant Bacteria Flashcards
All 5 cards in this deck
Why can bacteria evolve rapidly?
They reproduce at a fast rate.
How does an antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria arise and spread?
e.g. MRSA in a hospital
- A mutation of the bacterial pathogen produces a new strain that is resistant to the antibiotic.
- The antibiotic does not kill it, so it survives and reproduces and the resistant population rises.
- It spreads because people are not immune to it and there is no effective treatment.
Name a bacterium that is resistant to antibiotics.
MRSA.
True or false? Taking antibiotics causes bacteria to mutate and become resistant.
False. Mutations happen randomly; the antibiotic only kills the non-resistant bacteria, leaving resistant ones to reproduce.
Why should patients complete their course of antibiotics?
So that all the bacteria are killed and none survive to mutate and form resistant strains.