A Review on Antibiotic Resistance in Microorganisms

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance occurs when microorganisms develop mechanisms that protect them from the effects of antibiotics. Resistant microorganisms are more difficult to treat, require higher doses or alternative therapies may be more toxic, as well as more expensive. Microorganisms that are able to resist many antibiotics are called multi-resistant. All kinds of microorganisms can develop this ability to resist; Fungi develop resistance against antifungals, viruses develop resistance against antivirals, protozoa develop resistance against protozoa, and bacteria develop resistance against antibiotics. Resistance arose naturally either through genetic mutations or through the transmission of resistance from one sex that has acquired it to another that has not yet acquired it, in particular. Accordingly, it is urgent to reduce the misuse of antibiotics by not using them only when they are really needed.