What is antibiotic resistance?
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), antibiotic resistance occurs when all the bacteria that cause infection are not killed by the antibiotics taken to stop the infection. When antibiotics are overused, bacteria can develop new ways to fight off the medicine. These new, stronger bacteria survive and continue to multiply causing more harm. These bacteria, known as “super bugs,” can make illnesses harder to cure and last longer. Stronger bacteria are called “resistant” because they resist antibiotics. Misuse and overuse of antibiotics is a major concern. Each time you take an antibiotic unnecessarily or improperly, you increase your chance of developing resistant bacteria. So it is really important to take antibiotics only when necessary. Because of these resistant bacteria, some diseases that used to be easy to treat are now becoming nearly impossible to treat. Contributors to antibiotic resistance include: • asking for antibiotics when they are not ne
Because antibiotics are used a lot, and sometimes are used inappropriately, antibiotic resistance is becoming a common problem in many parts of the United States. It occurs when bacteria in your body change so that antibiotics don’t work effectively to fight them anymore. This can happen when bacteria are repeatedly exposed to the same antibiotics or when bacteria are left in your body after you have been taking an antibiotic (such as when someone does not take the full course of their antibiotic medicine). These bacteria can multiply and become strong enough to resist the antibiotic in the future.
