Microbial Control In The Environment Flashcards
(22 cards)
Drugs
Chemicals that affect physiology in any manner
Chemotherapeutic agents
Drugs that act against diseases
Antimicrobral agents
Drugs that treat infections
Antibiotics
Antimicrobial agents that are produced naturally by an organism
Semisynthetic antimicrobials
Chemically altered antibiotics
Synthetic antimicrobials
Lab-synthesized antimicrobral drugs
Spectrum of action
Number of different pathogens a drug acts against
Narrow-spectrum
Effective against few organisms
Broad-spectrum
Effective against many organisms
Routes of administration
Topical, oral intramuscular, intravenous
Disruption of normal microbiota
May result in secondary infections, overgrowth of normal flora causing secondary infections, of greatest concern for hospitalized patients
CDC three threat levels for microbial resistance
Urgent, serious, and concerning
Urgent
Potential for widespread life threatening disease
Serious
Alternative available or disease incidence is low or declining
Concerning
Low threat or numerous antimicrobials are available for treatment
Synergism
Occurs when one drug enhances the effect of a second drug
Antagonism
Occurs when drugs interfere with each other
Persister
Cells with the same genome as others of the same species, but that display greater resistance to antimicrobial agents
Pieces of dna, not apart of the normal chromosome, that give the bacteria antimicrobial resistance properties
R plasmids
The ratio of the dose of a drug that can be tolerated compared with the drugs effective dosage
Therapeutic index
Proteins made by bacteria to inhibit or kill other bacteria that may be copied in a lab to produce medications
Bacteriotocins
When multiple drugs are similar in structure or function a pathogen may be resistant to both. This is
Cross resistance
