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What Is Antibiotic Resistance?

  Antibiotic resistance is a serious global health problem that affects millions of people every year. It occurs when bacteria change in a way that makes antibiotics less effective or useless against them. This means that infections caused by these bacteria become harder to treat, and may lead to severe complications or death. Antibiotics are medicines that kill or stop the growth of bacteria. They are used to treat many common infections, such as pneumonia, urinary tract infections, skin infections and wound infections. However, when antibiotics are overused or misused, bacteria can develop resistance to them. This can happen in several ways: Bacteria can mutate (change their DNA) and become resistant to a specific antibiotic or a group of antibiotics. Bacteria can acquire resistance genes from other bacteria through horizontal gene transfer, which is the exchange of genetic material between different bacteria. Bacteria can produce enzymes that destroy or inactivate antibiotics, such