Fig.1 Penicillin resistance in S. pneumoniae and antibiotic use
Antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents are becoming less and less effective as microorganisms develop resistance to them. This is largely the result of the over-use of these medications over the past few decades (Fig. 1). Antimicrobial resistance is seen as one of the greatest threats to patients’ safety across the world.
Some bacteria are naturally resistant to certain classes of antibiotics, but acquired resistance is the more significant problem, and results from both new mutations and gene transfer between organisms.