What is Antibiotic Resistance?

Bacteria are tiny organisms not visible with the human eye. Most bacteria are helpful to us; some are harmful and cause infections. An antibiotic is a prescription drug that can kill or disable disease-causing bacteria.

Antibiotic resistance happens when microbes (germs) develop ways to survive the use of medicines meant to kill or weaken them. There are many bacteria that have developed resistance to antibiotics used to treat the infections caused by them. Some of the more common bacteria that are sometimes resistant are Staphylococcus aureus ("Staph"), Streptococcus pneumoniae ("pneumococcus"), Mycobacterium tuberculosis ("TB"), and Enterococcus.