Abstract
Many bacterial infections that until a few years ago could be cured with specific antibiotics are today resistant to treatment with the same antibiotics. This is a general phenomenon, as it has been observed in different parts of the world, at different times, and for numerous (almost all) antibiotics. Its clinical importance is obvious. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has been very actively investigated, measured, and followed at the epidemiological level. In this chapter, however, we do not detail the epidemiology of resistance but rather describe the biological aspects. We attempt to answer the following questions:
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1.
What is the difference between resistant and sensitive (susceptible) bacteria?
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2.
What role does the antibiotic play in the appearance and diffusion of the resistance?
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3.
Is the resistance a genetic phenomenon; i.e., is the information for the resistance contained within the bacterial DNA?
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4.
If so, is it transferred from one bacterium to another? How?
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© 1982 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.
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Lancini, G., Parenti, F. (1982). Resistance of Microorganisms to Antibiotics. In: Antibiotics. Springer Series in Microbiology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5674-8_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5674-8_4
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-5676-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-5674-8
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