Antibiotic resistance and Antimicrobials

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What is an antibiotic?
Substances produced by microorganisms that act against bacteria
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What are 3 methods that antibiotics use to kill bacteria?
-Disrupt cell wall formation
-Inhibit metabolic processes
-Inhibiting cell membrane function
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What does being described as 'broad-spectrum treatment' mean?
Attacks/destroys all prokaryotic/bacterial cells
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What is bacterial resistance (antibiotic resistance) mean?
Because a few bacteria naturally possessed alleles of genes that coded for ways to prevent the effect of the antibiotic
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Why has penicillin-resistant bacteria become resistant to penicillin?
-Producing the enzyme penicillinase to break down penicillin
-Exporting the active ingredient in penicillin out of the cells before it can work
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How do bacteria reproduce?
Bacteria reproduce asexually by binary fission
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What happens when one bacterium becomes resistant?
It reproduces rapidly resulting in a large population of antibiotic resistant bacteria
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What is M.R.S.A an example of?
Antibiotic resistant bacteria
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Why is it important for new sources of antibiotics to be given to society and the economy?
-More effective treatment
-Less treatment cost
-Less time off work
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What is one consequence to human health of antibiotic resistance?
Complications after childbirth
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What are the 2 natural environments that scientists have looked at for microbes to find antibiotic compounds?
-The soil
-The human nasal cavity
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Why would it be beneficial to the soil microorganisms in possessing antimicrobial properties?
The microorganisms will be better adapted(competition)
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Why would pharmaceutical companies not be keen on investing money into the development of new antibiotics?
-Bacteria may become resistant in short period of time=Company may not make enough profit

-Drugs are too specific=Few patients
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What are antimicrobial drugs?
Drugs that are effective against a broader range of microbes than antibiotics
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How quickly a disease spreads through a population depends on?(name 3)
-The percentage of the population that are vaccinated
-Whether there is a vaccine for the disease
-How easily the disease spreads from person to person
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What are most major epidemics and pandemics due to?
Spread of a virus
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What are 3 reasons why viruses are more likely to cause epidemics?
-Viruses are prone to mutations
-Contain RNA
-Antibiotics are not effective against against viruses
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What were 2 reasons for the explosion of HIV infection and AIDS?
-A more casual approach to sex in many societies
-Increase use of air travel
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Why does HIV meet the requirement of a virus to cause a epidemic or pandemic?
-Its an unstable retrovirus which has a high mutation rate
-It cannot be vaccinated against
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What is the reservoirs of disease?
Animal species harbour viruses that subsequently cause disease in humans
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Name 2 features of reservoir species?
-They are not normally transmitters of the disease
-If transfer occurs, usually by chance
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Why are bats suitable reservoirs?
-They are mammals and have similar physiology to humans
-Bats can fly over large ranges-increasing time with human contact
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What can lead to a more effective treatment of disease?
Earlier and more accurate diagnosis
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What technique can be used to detect disease earlier?
-ELISA
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What does ELISA stand for?
Enzyme-Linked-Immunosorbent -Assay
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What does ELISA do?
Uses antibodies,enzymes,hormones or antibodies as biomarkers to detect particular molecules
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What 4 things can ELISA diagnostic kits be used to detect?
-Pathogens in the body
-Cancer cell markers
-Cardiac disease markers
-Pregnancy
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What is are 2 advantages of ELISA?
-Enabling,early,rapid screening
-Provide wide range of diagnostic feedback from one test
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How does ELISA allow screening for a large number of conditions at each time?
Test for small and large numbers of biomarkers at the same time
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Steps of ELISA in the use of a pregnancy test?
-Increased levels of the hormone chorionic gonadotopin(hCG)
-hCG antigens are detected by complementary hCG monoclonal antibodies immobilised on the ELISA plate
-Formation of this antigen-antibody complex results in linked enzyme reacting to produce chara
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How ELISA is used to test for viral pathogens?
-An ELISA plate is impregnated with the viral antigens which is coated with blood serum from the patient
-If the patients blood contains complementary antibodies ,then the antigen-antibody complex triggers an enzyme reaction that leads to colour change
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What are cytokines and what's their purpose?
Small proteins that help coordinate the immune response & are used as biomarkers to identify a number of conditions
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What are 3 methods that antibiotics use to kill bacteria?

Back

-Disrupt cell wall formation
-Inhibit metabolic processes
-Inhibiting cell membrane function

Card 3

Front

What does being described as 'broad-spectrum treatment' mean?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What is bacterial resistance (antibiotic resistance) mean?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Why has penicillin-resistant bacteria become resistant to penicillin?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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