Question

1.Analyze the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections including how bacteria become resistant, how someone gets an antibiotic-resistant superinfection and how our society encourages the development of antibiotic resistances.

Answer 1

Answer:

Antibiotics are medicines, which are used against microorganisms like bacteria to cure the infections. However, when such disease causing bacteria attain some degree of resistance toward a particular antibiotic which is used to control its infection, that is called antibacterial resistance.

Antibacterial resistance has been seen as a major threat to human health and food security in near future. Antibacterial resistance can affect people everywhere, of all ages and sex. World Health Organization even commented that “we are heading toward post-antibiotic era, in which a common infection and minor injuries can once again kill”, which shows the severity of problem.

Bacteria generally become resistant to these antibiotic medicines by two ways mainly, 1) Mutations in their DNA or 2) Horizontal gene transfer. Prokaryotes are not simple organisms and easy to invade, therefore, they can be easily mutated and mutation can change their DNA sequence which can help them to attain antibacterial resistance. In horizontal gene transfer, any external DNA or fragment of DNA can be inserted into bacterial DNA which can again change the DNA sequence of the bacteria which ultimately may help them to develop the antibacterial resistance.

When people are already vulnerable due to an earlier infection there Is a great possibility that they can again infected by some other bacteria or microorganism which is resistant to carry on treatment, and that is called superinfection.

Our society play important role to aggravate the problem of antibacterial resistance. In many countries people can buy antibiotics and other drugs without the prescription of health workers, which leads to too much use of antibiotics in human or pets, which is single most important factor to aggravate the problem. However, health workers where over prescribe the antibiotics can also add to the problem. The antibacterial resistance is an threat to global health as it takes time to develop viable alternative to the antibacterial resistance.