Why Disease-Causing Bacteria Are Resistant to Antibiotics and What the Medical Profession in South Africa is Doing About It
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Discuss why disease-causing bacteria are resistant to antibiotics and what can the medical profession in South Africa do about it?
Bacteria are single-celled minute organisms found inside and outside our bodies. Most bacteria is very useful and good for us such as the bacteria found in each person’s digestive tract. This bacteria is important as it breaks down food so that nutrients can be absorbed and it also helps to fight the bad bacteria that causes infection and disease. Bacteria that is not good for us causes infection such as tuberculosis, ear infections, pneumonia and even food poisoning. This is disease causing bacteria. It is not only bacteria that cause illness however, as some infections such as colds and flu are caused by different even smaller organisms called viruses. Viruses invade healthy cells and reproduce and in this way they cause infections.
Antibiotics are drugs that fight infections and disease caused by bacteria. Antibiotics are prescribed by doctors for bacterial infections. They cannot be bought over the counter and you therefore need a prescription from a doctor to be able to buy them. They have no impact on viruses and should therefore not be prescribed where there is no bacterial infection.
Antibiotic resistance is when bacteria starts to resist the effects of an antibiotic. It means that the antibiotic will no longer work to kill off the bacteria because the bacteria has mutated to a different form and the antibiotic doesn’t recognise it any more. Over time therefore the antibiotic no longer works to fight the bacterial infection and stronger and stronger antibiotics are needed.
There are several reasons bacteria become resistant to antibiotics and I will now explain these:
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