Antibiotic Resistance and The Susceptibility of Bacteria Lab
Amy Hollingsworth The University of Akron
In 1928 while working with Staphylococcus bacteria, Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming noticed that a type of mold growing by accident on a laboratory plate was protected from, and even repelled, the bacteria. The active substance, which Fleming called penicillin, was literally an antibiotic it killed living bacteria.
History
Thus began the age of using natural and, later, synthetic drugs to treat people with bacterial infections. Though not widely popular until the 1940s, antibiotics and other antimicrobials (medicines that kill or slow growth of a microbe) have saved countless lives and blunted serious complications of many feared diseases and infections. The success of antimicrobials against diseasecausing microbes is among modern medicine's great achievements.
Are All Bacteria Bad?
Probiotics helpful bacteria that help us digest our foods (yogurt, pickles, soy) Things that kill our healthy gut bacteria Birth control pills, antibiotics, alcohol, smoking, stress, poor diet. Without these healthy bacteria, we see symptoms such as bloating, constipation, diarrhea, allergies, skin conditions.
The Problem
After more than 50 years of widespread use, evolution of disease-causing microbes has resulted in many antimicrobials losing their effectiveness.
As microbes evolve, they adapt to their environment. If something stops them from growing and spreading such as an antimicrobial they evolve new mechanisms to resist the antimicrobials by changing their genetic structure. Changing the genetic structure ensures that the offspring of the resistant microbes are also resistant.
Penicillin was extensively used in Hungary in the early 1970's. By 1976, > 50% of the strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae were resistant to penicillin.
Dangers of Antibiotic Resistance
Antibiotic resistance is one of the world's most pressing public health problems. This condition occurs when bacteria change in some way that reduces or eliminates the effectiveness of drugs, chemicals, or other agents designed to cure or prevent infections. Widespread overuse of antibiotics is fueling an increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. So the next time you really need an antibiotic for a bacterial infection, it may not work.
If You Have a Cold or Flu, Antibiotics Won't Work for You!
Colds and flu are caused by viruses, not bacteria. Taking antibiotics when you have a virus may do more harm than good. Get smart about when antibiotics are appropriate. Taking them for viral infections, such as a cold, cough, the flu, or acute bronchitis: Will not cure the infection; Will not keep other people from getting sick; Will not help you feel better; and May cause unnecessary and harmful side effects.
Contributing Factors in Antibiotic Resistance
Misuse of medical prescriptions Use of antibiotics to promote livestock growth Use of antibiotics on plants Environmental Pollution
Evolution through natural selection can occur remarkably quickly when selection pressures are very strong and reproductive rates are very fast
(some bacteria generations are as short as 15-20 minutes!)
MRSA
MRSA stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. This type of bacteria causes staph infections that are resistant to treatment with usual antibiotics. MRSA occurs most frequently among patients who undergo invasive medical procedures or who have weakened immune systems and are being treated in hospitals and healthcare facilities such as nursing homes and dialysis centers. MRSA in healthcare settings commonly causes serious and potentially life threatening infections, such as bloodstream infections, surgical site infections, or pneumonia.
Quick Facts
Many infectious diseases are increasingly difficult to treat because of antimicrobial-resistant organisms, including HIV infection, staphylococcal infection, tuberculosis, influenza, gonorrhea, candida infection, and malaria. Between 5 and 10 percent of all hospital patients develop an infection, leading to an increase of about $5 billion in annual U.S. healthcare costs. About 90,000 of these patients die each year as a result of their infection, up from 13,300 patient deaths in 1992.
Malaria
Human Immunodeficiency Virus HIV
Why are we doing the lab today?
Given a bacterial culture, students will demonstrate aseptic technique. Identify household disinfectants and antiseptics and distinguish between the two. Explain the consequences of antibiotic resistance.
Coevolution = An intimate and interactive evolutionary relationship between two or more species in which direct genetic change in one species is attributable to genetic change in the other(s).
Antibiotics are now everywhere in the environment, and humans and bacteria are engaged in an arms race. Who is likely to win?
