THE DANGER OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT BACTERIA

To finish this first part of the story, let me tell you that in your gut you have what are called the gastrointestinal flora, a collection of bacteria, most of them harmless and some of them somewhat harmful. The last ones are kept at bay by the harmless one and by the immune system, such that you do not get sick. This is an eternal war that nobody wins until this stationary state is perturbed for some reason.

Before antibiotics are given to a person, the doctor has to make sure that he or she has a bacterial infection. If a thorough physical examination does not rule out a bacterial infection, the doctor or a nurse should swab the throat, spread the material on a culture dish in which there are interspersed, antibiotic-loaded filters and see if there is growth inhibition around one of them. If there is, it can be concluded that a bacterium is the disease agent and the antibiotic present in the inhibitory filter should be administered in an appropriate dose and for a prescribed amount of time.

The next problem is that, in general, patients do not follow the treatment to the end; they abandon it as soon as they start to feel better. Thus, a lot of the bacteria are still alive and some can, through mutation, become resistant to the drug. And because the stationary state in the intestinal tract was perturbed they will face reduced competition from susceptible bacteria and will then go on to proliferate. Thus, when confronted with the same antibiotic, the most resistant cells in a group will inevitably outcompete all others and the antibiotic will not work.

So, our first conclusion is that antibiotics must be used only when necessary and for the time that they are prescribed.

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