What is intrinsic resistance and what are some examples of bacteria with this type of resistance?
Intrinsic resistance is when bacteria are resistant to antibiotics naturally, without having prior exposure to antibiotics. This can be a problem in terms of treatment, since the number of antibiotics for these bacteria may be limited. An example of bacteria with intrinsic resistance is Burkholderia cepacia (burCOLD-air-ee-ah sa-PAY-sha). What are some examples of bacteria that can acquire resistance? The most common bacteria that can acquire or develop resistance is Pseudomonas aeruginosa (soo-daMOE-nus A-ridge-a-NO-sa). Psuedomonas can develop resistance to several antibiotics. Another bacteria is Staphylococcus aureus (STAFF-ee-loeKOK-us OR-i-us). When resistance develops, it is commonly called MRSA for methacillin (METH-a-SILL-in) resistant or ORSA for oxacillin (OX-a-S ILL-in) resistant Staphylococcus aureus. How does resistance develop? The most common way resistance is acquired is by exposure to antibiotics. For example, every time you take a course of antibiotics, you are “expo
