How do superbugs evolve?
Bacteria that build up resistance to antibiotics are becoming a common problem. In this video, Darria Long Gillespie, MD, explains how these resistant bacteria, or superbugs, become strong enough to resist antibiotics.
Transcript
We want to give them a high enough dose, that it can kill the bacteria, not just suppress it, but actually kill it and get rid of the infection.
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The reason that these superbugs are able to develop a resistance is that they can evolve. And everything evolves. Humans can evolve, too.
So think of it as a weightlifting analogy. If I suddenly gave you 1,000 pounds to lift, it would probably crush you and maybe even kill you.
Similarly, that's what we want to do when we give somebody antibiotics.
We want to give them a high enough dose that it can kill the bacteria, not just suppress it, but actually kill it and get rid of the infection.
If on the other hand, I just come to you every day, and I give you 50 pounds, you can lift that 50 pounds every day, and you're
going to start to get stronger and be better able to lift that weight.
It's the same issue when we give a patient antibiotics and we don't give them enough. We call that a subtherapeutic dose.
Either we don't give it to them for long enough, or we don't give them a high enough dose. And the antibiotic is exposed to that bacteria,
and the bacteria is able to build a resistance and become stronger and not be killed by the antibiotic, but to actually become stronger against it.
infections
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