1. Within a few years of clinical use, penicillin-resistant bacteria had become

Question

1. Within a few years of clinical use, penicillin-resistant bacteria had become a major problem. Propose at least two ways that a bacterium could evolve resistance to penicillin. Your answers should be in "big picture" terms, not specifics. As an example, "big picture" answers to the question of how to eliminate the dreadful habit of smoking could include: 1) ban tobacco sales; 2) tax tobacco products so that no one can afford them; 3) punish anyone caught smoking; 4) make smoking increasingly inconvenient; 5) sue the pants off tobacco companies to drive them out of business; 6) create an organization to make cool commercials and create a website called thetruth.com. Note that in answer 3) there was no need to advocate fines versus community service versus imprisonment.

Explanation / Answer

Bacteria cause disease and illness therefore we use antibiotics as a medicine to kill the harmful bacteria. Antibiotics play important role in maintaining the human health and increases the life span of human from dreadly diseases. Now a days bacteria become resistance to antibiotics become a big problem for us. Antibiotic do not able to kill resistant bacteria, they survive and increase their number in the presence of an antibiotic. Bacteria resistant to more than one antibiotics are called multi-resistant organisms (MRO). bacteria evolving resistance to antibiotics is a serious threat for human and it can be stoped by reducing overprescribing and unnecessary prescribing of antibiotics, also maintaining good hygiene control infection. some bacteria like bacteria in the human gut are naturally resistant to few antibiotics like benzyl penicillin.

Bacteria resistant mechanism to penicillin:

Penicillin treats wide range of bacteria. it prevents the formation of cell wall in bacteria and kill the bacteria. Penicillin mainly aim an enzyme that help in the cross-linking of peptidoglycan layer present in the cell wall. Outer membrane i.e. absent in gram positive bacteria and present in gram negative bacteria, therefore, penicillin can easily enter into the gram positive bacteria through porins, but, not effective against gram negative bacteria because penicillin not able to enter through porins. Amoxicillin is one of the 'broad-spectrum penicillins' are related drug that can effect gram negative bacteria. some gram negative bacteria like E. coli are resistant to broad spectrum penicillin , may be because these strain have mutation that result in less or small opening porin developement, so that less number of penicillin can enter through porins. This could be one mechanism of resistance.

another mechanism is to modify target enzyme of penicllin that cross link peptidoglycan. Bacteria, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, that can cause pneumonia, bronchitis,etc. use this mechanism to resist penicillin. These resistant strains may have mutated protein binding site of penicillin so that penicillin can't bind to it.

third and important mechanism of resistance is that bacteria secreate an enzyme beta lactamases that cleaves beta lactam ring (present in penicillin and essential for their effectiveness) and makes penicillin no more effective.

Prevention:

1) stop unnecessary prescription of antibiotics. it should be only prescribed when it is needed not in viral infection or in any condition when it is not required.

2) course should be compleated so that disease can be cured compleately and no further infection caused by that bacteria.

3) practising good hygeine and environment so that i can resist with infection or control the infection.

Control infection in hospitals:

Alternative to antibiotics:

use of antibiotics is the last option to control disease apart from public health and hyeigine i.e. preventive measures . vaccines can be wonderful to use and there are many diseases that get prevented by using vaccines, but it is time taking and sometimes it may failed after working many years on it. therefore use of vaccines are risky and quite difficult.

Use of Bacteriophage have been mentioned sometimes as a possible alternate, it is a viruses that occurs naturally, which, attack particular bacteria. this has limitation that they are large biological agents that transfer the phage to the accurate target is not as easy and straight as giving a small-molecule antibiotic.

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