Antibiotic Resistance

On this page

Basics

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

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• Images
• Health Check Tools
• Videos and Tutorials

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 become able to resist the effects of an antibiotic.

Using antibiotics can lead to resistance. Each time you take antibiotics, sensitive bacteria are killed. But resistant germs may be left to grow and multiply. They can spread to other people. They can also cause infections that certain antibiotics cannot cure. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one example. It causes infections that are resistant to several common antibiotics.

To help prevent antibiotic resistance

• Don't use antibiotics for viruses like colds or flu. Antibiotics don't work on viruses.
• Don't pressure your doctor 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.
• Don't save antibiotics for later or use someone else's prescription.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Start Here

• Antibiotic Resistance Questions and Answers (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Antibiotics: Misuse Puts You and Others at Risk (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Antimicrobial (Drug) Resistance (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
• Containing Unusual Resistance (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Facts about Antibiotic Resistance (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Susceptibility Testing (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the U.S. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance (Food and Drug Administration)
• Antimicrobial (Drug) Resistance Prevention (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
• CDC Vital Signs: Making Health Care Safer -- Protect Patients from Antibiotic Resistance (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Mission Critical: Preventing Antibiotic Resistance (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Stop the Spread of Superbugs: Help Fight Drug Resistant Bacteria (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

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

Related Issues

• CDC Vital Signs: Making Health Care Safer (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Antibiotic-Resistant Gonorrhea (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Antimicrobial Resistance (World Health Organization) Also in Spanish
• Biggest Threats (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) Infection (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE):Overview (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
• Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci in Healthcare Settings (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Images

• Examples of How Antibiotic Resistance Spreads (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Health Check Tools

• Antibiotics Quiz (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Videos and Tutorials

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

Statistics and Research

• Antibiotic and Antimicrobial Resistance: Threat Report 2013 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Antimicrobial Resistance (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
• On the Trail of Drug-Defying Superbugs (National Institute of General Medical Sciences)

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: Feasibility of using point prevalence surveys to assess antimicrobial utilisation in...
• Article: Risk factors for acquisition and mortality of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii bacteremia:...
• Article: Clinical features and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of culture-proven neonatal sepsis in...
• Antibiotic Resistance -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Antibiotic / Antimicrobial Resistance Glossary (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Antibiotics and Resistance: Glossary (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

• Vancomycin resistant enterococci (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish