What are superbugs?
The term ‘superbugs’ has been coined by the media to refer to bacteria that have become resistant to certain antibiotics. This means that the antibiotics no longer control or cure the illnesses the bacteria cause. This does not, however, make the ‘superbugs’ resistant to effective germ-killing agents used in hygienic cleaners such as hypochlorite bleach. In fact, hospitals successfully use such products to control the spread of ‘superbugs’. In this sense, use of hygienic products, such as bleach, can help control the spread of ‘superbugs’. If our ability to control and cure disease with antibiotics is threatened, then preventing disease in the first place through good home hygiene becomes even more important.
Superbugs are drug-resistant bacteria that survive an encounter with an antibiotic. These bacteria undergo a mutation that initially protects them from the drug; however, with repeated exposure, even these bacteria will likely succumb to the effects of the antibiotic. Therefore, the danger lies in not completing the entire course of your antibiotic therapy. If you stop taking your medication as soon as you start feeling better, you are allowing the superbugs to survive, reproduce and pass their resistance onto their offspring. In addition, you are increasing your risk of relapse. Many factors can influence whether bacteria become resistant to an antibiotic, the two main ones being the prevalence of resistance genes, from which come proteins that protect bacteria from the effects of an antibiotic, and the extent of antibiotic use. If the bacteria do not contain genes that make it resistant to a given antibiotic, the antibiotic will be able to eradicate infection caused by any of the rel
