Evolutionary theory predicted that bacterial resistance to antibiotics would evo

Question

Evolutionary theory predicted that bacterial resistance to antibiotics would evolve. Given time and sufficient heritable variability, living organisms (including bacteria) will evolve when a selective pressure (like an antibiotic) is introduced. But evolutionary theory also gives doctors and patients some specific strategies for delaying even more widespread evolution of antibiotic resistance. Some of these strategies are given below:

A. Don't use antibiotics to treat viral infections.

B. Avoid mild doses of antibiotics over long time periods.

C. When treating a bacterial infection with antibiotics, take all your pills.

D. Use a combination of drugs to treat a bacterial infection.

E. Reduce or eliminate the "preventive" use of antibiotics on livestock and crops

For each strategy, give a justification based on your knowledge of bacteria and evolution, why this strategy would reduce the transmission of antibiotic resistance.

Explanation / Answer

ANSWER:

A)Don't use antibiotics to treat viral infections. Antibiotics kill bacteria, notviruses. If you take antibiotics for a viral infection (like a cold or the flu), you will not kill the viruses, but you will introduce a selective pressure on bacteria in your body, inadvertently selecting for antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

B)Avoid mild doses of antibiotics over long time periods. If an infection needs to be controlled withantibiotics, a short-term, high-dosage prescription is preferable. This is because you want to kill all of the illness-causing bacteria, leaving no bacterial survivors.

C)Antibiotics are a group of medicines that are used to treat infections caused by germs (bacteria and certain parasites). They do not work against infections that are caused by viruses - for example, the common cold or flu. Antibiotics are normally only prescribed for more serious bacterial infections - for example, pneumonia.

D)The initial use of combination therapy for infections with ... the use of two antimicrobials to treat infections with Gram-negative bacteria is .... Synergy of a two-drug combination determined using the checkerboard technique.

E)Antibiotics drastically reduced death rates associated with many infectious ... Reduce or eliminate the "preventive" use of antibiotics on livestock and crops.

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