A Closer Look at Antibiotic Resistance

by VICTOR TSUNODA

Bacterial infections have become more difficult, and sometimes impossible, to treat due to antibiotic resistance, which occurs when bacteria develop the ability to defeat the available drugs designed to kill them. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year, 2 million Americans become sick with antibiotic-resistant infections, and of that, about 23,000 die. This book examines the challenges related to antibiotic resistance, the development and use of diagnostic testing to identify antibiotic resistance, the development of treatments for resistant infections, and appropriate antibiotic use.