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How can antibiotic use contribute to drug-resistant bacterial infections?

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Health monitoring — human disease The routine monitoring of blood pressure levels is an important part of assessing an individual's health. Blood pressure provides information about the amount of blood in circulation and about heart function and thus is an important indicator of disease.

Antibiotic use contributes to drug-resistant bacterial infections primarily through the process of natural selection. When an antibiotic is administered, it typically kills or inhibits the growth of susceptible bacteria. However, if some bacteria possess genetic mutations or have acquired resistance genes that make them less vulnerable to the drug, they can survive this exposure.123

The indiscriminate or improper use of antibiotics—such as failing to complete a prescribed regimen or using them when not clinically necessary—exacerbates this issue. By eliminating the vulnerable competitors, antibiotics provide a selective pressure that allows these resistant strains to proliferate and dominate the population.1243

Furthermore, resistant bacteria can spread their resistance to other organisms through gene exchange, such as conjugation or transduction. This can result in infections that are difficult or impossible to treat with standard medications. The widespread use of antibiotics in intensive animal farming also contributes to this global health threat by fostering the development and environmental spread of resistant bacteria.124