Antibacterial-resistant strain

  • Thread starter ZapperZ
  • Start date
  • Tags
    Strain
In summary, the discussion revolves around the connection between the advice to avoid antibacterial soaps and reduce the use of antibiotics, and the increase in antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. It is explained that using these products can lead to the elimination of beneficial bacteria, leaving the antibiotic-resistant bacteria to thrive and spread through bacterial conjugation. This can make it harder to treat infections and increase the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in various bacteria.
  • #1
ZapperZ
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Education Advisor
Insights Author
32,820
4,713
Humm.. I actually have a biology question. I don't normally troll around in this part of PF, so I don't know if it has been asked before.

There have been advice to not use antibacterial soaps, and reducing the frequency of use of antibiotics. The reason for this is the report on the more frequent discovery of strains of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.

My question is, what is the connection between these two?

From my understanding of how evolutionary process occurs, you have mutant strains of a particular species occurring randomly. Thus, presumably antibiotic-resistant strain would occur no matter if one uses antibacterial soaps or antibiotics. So why would using these things promote their "existence"? It is because the antibiotics kill the existing bacterial strains and thus, there's less competition for "food" for the resistant strain?

Zz.
 
Biology news on Phys.org
  • #2
ZapperZ said:
It is because the antibiotics kill the existing bacterial strains and thus, there's less competition for "food" for the resistant strain?

Zz.

Yes. Imagine your skin is covered with bacteria (it is) and 99.99% of those bacteria are beneficial. The antibacterial soap kills these beneficial bacteria along with "germs" (which are not very numerous on your skin to begin with, compared to beneficial microbes.) The ones that don't get killed by the soap. are the antibiotic resistant germs - a small sub population of the germs, occurring naturally.

So now you've killed off the antibiotic sensistive beneficial bacteria, the antibiotic sensitive "germs," and left only antibiotic resistant bacteria (some of those being germs) behind. They can take over the joint.

It's like how your lawn is mostly grass, with a few weeds. The grass (good guys) help to keep the weeds from taking over. If you kill the grass, the weeds can spread like crazy through your property.

The other concern is that the antibiotic resistance can *spread* to other bacteria. The more of that sort of bacteria that's around, the more likely it will be able to spread into some other germ, and make that germ harder to treat.
 
Last edited:
  • #3
Just to expand upon Patty's comment regarding the "spread" of antibiotic resistance...this occurs via a process known as bacterial conjugation where two bacteria can transfer plasmid DNA between one another (this is something separate from the chromosomal DNA), and these plasmids are what carry antibiotic resistance.

Here's one site that explains a bit about bacterial conjugation:
http://www.mun.ca/biochem/courses/3107/Lectures/Topics/conjugation.html [Broken]

And an animation that illustrates it:
http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/animations/conjugation/conj_frames.htm

So, if you kill off most of the non-harmful and non-resistant bacteria, that leaves more of the resistant bacteria around to spread the resistance to what were previously non-resistant bacteria in addition to allowing the resistant bacteria to multiply disproportionately to the non-resistant bacteria.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

1. What is an antibacterial-resistant strain?

An antibacterial-resistant strain is a type of bacteria that has developed the ability to resist the effects of antibiotics. This means that the bacteria is able to survive and continue to grow even when exposed to antibiotics that are meant to kill or inhibit its growth.

2. How do bacteria become resistant to antibiotics?

Bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics through a process called natural selection. When exposed to antibiotics, some bacteria may have genetic mutations that allow them to survive and reproduce, passing on these traits to their offspring. Over time, these resistant bacteria can become dominant, making it more difficult for antibiotics to effectively treat infections.

3. What are the consequences of antibacterial resistance?

The consequences of antibacterial resistance can include longer and more severe infections, increased risk of complications, and higher healthcare costs. It can also lead to a decrease in the effectiveness of antibiotics, making it more difficult to treat bacterial infections and potentially resulting in more deaths.

4. How can we prevent antibacterial resistance?

One way to prevent antibacterial resistance is to use antibiotics only when necessary and as prescribed by a healthcare professional. It is also important to finish the entire course of antibiotics, even if symptoms improve, to ensure that all bacteria are killed. Proper hygiene, such as washing hands regularly, can also help prevent the spread of bacterial infections.

5. What is being done to address antibacterial resistance?

There are ongoing efforts to address antibacterial resistance, such as developing new antibiotics and promoting responsible use of existing antibiotics. Governments and healthcare organizations are also working to improve surveillance and monitoring of resistant bacteria, as well as educating the public on ways to prevent and control infections.

Similar threads

  • Biology and Medical
Replies
18
Views
5K
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • Biology and Medical
Replies
6
Views
3K
Replies
1
Views
2K
Replies
30
Views
9K
  • Biology and Medical
Replies
11
Views
5K
Replies
2
Views
4K
  • Biology and Medical
Replies
1
Views
4K
  • Biology and Medical
Replies
24
Views
8K
Replies
2
Views
3K
Back
Top