Antibiotic Resistance

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Learn More
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• Images
• Videos and Tutorials
• Test Your Knowledge

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Antibiotics are medicines that fight bacterial infections. Used properly, they can save lives. But there is a growing problem of antibiotic resistance. It happens when bacteria change and resist the effects of an antibiotic. Resistant bacteria may continue to grow and multiply.

Each time you take antibiotics there is a risk that the bacteria will become resistant. Resistant infections can be difficult and sometimes impossible to treat. They can spread to other people. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one example. It causes infections that are resistant to several common antibiotics.

Antibiotic resistance can cause problems. To help prevent antibiotic resistance:

• Don't use antibiotics for viruses like colds or flu. Antibiotics don't work on viruses.
• Don't ask your health care provider to give you an antibiotic.
• When you take antibiotics, follow the directions carefully. Finish your medicine even if you feel better. If you stop treatment too soon, some bacteria may survive and re-infect you.
• Do not share your antibiotics with others.
• Don't save antibiotics for later or use someone else's prescription.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Start Here

• About Antibiotic Resistance (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Antimicrobial Resistance Questions and Answers (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Antibiotic Sensitivity Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Antibiotic Resistance: 5 Things to Know (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance (Food and Drug Administration)
• Fight Antimicrobial Resistance: Protect Yourself and Your Family (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Where Antimicrobial Resistance Spreads (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Learn More

• How Antibiotic Resistance Happens (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF

Treatments and Therapies

• Combating Antibiotic Resistance (Food and Drug Administration)
• What Can Be Done about Antibiotic Resistance? (Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics)

Specifics

• Antibiotic-Resistant Gonorrhea (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Antimicrobial Resistance (World Health Organization) Also in Spanish
• Antimicrobial Resistance Threats (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
• Antimicrobial Resistance, Food, and Food Animals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Patients: Information about CRE (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE) in Healthcare Settings (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Images

• How Antibiotic Resistance Happens (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
• How Antibiotic Resistance Spreads (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF

Videos and Tutorials

• Animation of Antimicrobial Resistance (Food and Drug Administration)
• Antibiotics vs. Bacteria: Fighting the Resistance (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Test Your Knowledge

• Be an Antibiotics Whiz: Test Your Knowledge about Antibiotics (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Statistics and Research

• 2019 Antibiotic Resistance Threats Report (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• On the Trail of Drug-Defying Superbugs (National Institute of General Medical Sciences)
• Stamping Out Superbugs (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Antibiotic Resistance (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Association between quality of governance, antibiotic consumption, and antimicrobial resistance: an...
• Article: Innovations in genomic antimicrobial resistance surveillance.
• Antibiotic Resistance -- see more articles
• Article: Rising Antimicrobial Resistance In Pakistan: A Call For An Urgent Action.

Reference Desk

• Glossary (Antibiotics) (Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics)

Find an Expert

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
• Food and Drug Administration
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Children

• Danger of Antibiotic Overuse (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Antibiotic Resistance: 5 Things to Know (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Fight Antimicrobial Resistance: Protect Yourself and Your Family (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Vancomycin-resistant enterococci - hospital (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish