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The Misuse of Antibiotics and Bacterial Resistance

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The Misuse of Antibiotics and Bacterial Resistance
Samantha Onda
Penn State Worthington Scranton

Abstract
The growing issue of bacterial resistance to antibiotics is growing more rapidly than anticipated. Numerous factors contribute to this growing issue and it creates a major concern for society today. The main factor in this growing issue is the continuous misuse and overuse of antibiotics. For example, people use them by prescribing antibiotics to themselves, even if they have acquired a viral infection. Furthermore, livestock is pumped full of antibiotics to promote growth and prevent infections. Moreover, bacteria have become smarter and evolved so that they are able to transmit the resistance to other bacteria. This is an important issue in today’s society because if antibiotics are continuously misused, they will no longer be affective. The world will go back to a time period when diseases, even something as simple as the common cold, killed mass numbers of people. From reading this paper, readers will learn that they need to properly educate themselves and others in our society to prevent complete resistance.
Keywords: antibiotics, bacteria, resistance, misuse, educate

The Misuse of Antibiotics and Bacterial Resistance Antibiotics have been used throughout centuries of medicine. An antibiotic is a medication used to treat infectious diseases. There are many different types of antibiotics, such as penicillin and tetracycline, that work differently to treat infections. Over the years since the discovery of antibiotics, bacteria have been growing resistant. The major factor in this growing issue is the misuse and overuse of antibiotics.
History
Antibiotics were first discovered by a scientist named Alexander Fleming in 1929 (A brief history of antibiotics, 1999). Fleming worked as a bacteriologist in World War I studying wound infections

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