How does bacteria become resistant to antibiotics?
Bacteria becomes resistant to antibiotics mostly by the misuse of antibiotics. For example, if a person is perscribed to take a certain antibiotic, say penicillin, for 2 weeks, many people would cease taking the penicillin after their symptoms disappeared, and would instead stockpile the antibiotic, hoping to save it for later, when it may need to be used again. Contrary to common belief, an antibiotic does not destroy all bacteria at once, and it does not destroy bacteria randomly. The bacteria eliminated first are those which are most susceptible to the antibiotic, leaving those which are more resistant, and which carry resistant genes. If a person only takes the perscribed antibiotic for a single week, as opposed to the perscribed two weeks, the more resistant bacteria are better able to survive and thrive, transmitting their genetic material, and thus their resistant genes, to next generations of bacteria, due to the lack of competition for resources after the elimination of the su
