Reversibility of antibiotic resistance.
Although theoretically attractive, the reversibility of resistance has proven difficult in practice, even though antibiotic resistance mechanisms induce a fitness cost to the bacterium. Associated resistance to other antibiotics and compensatory mutations seem to ameliorate the effect of antibiotic interventions in the community. In this paper the current understanding of the concepts of reversibility of antibiotic resistance and the interventions performed in hospitals and in the community are reviewed.
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Microbiology, Örebro University Hospital , Örebro , Sweden.
Martin
M
Sundqvist
D003428:Cross Infection / Q000635:transmission; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D006801:Humans
Antibiotic resistance; fitness; intervention