Question

Describe two ways that people contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance.

Answer 1

People contribute to antibiotic resistance by not completing their full course of antibiotics as prescribed by doctors when they are sick. This allows the bacteria to adapt to the antibiotic because the incomplete treatment did not kill the bacteria. Another way in which bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics is the widespread use of antibiotics in everyday consumer products, such as cleaners and beauty products. These antibiotics end up in the environment, and diluted exposure to these antibiotics by bacteria allows the bacteria to develop a resistance.