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Developed in 2013 as part of CDC’s Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2013, this infographic illustrates how antibiotic resistance happens. (1) Lots of germs, with some being drug resistant. (2) Antibiotics kill bacteria causing the illness, as well as good bacteria protecting the body from infection. (3) The drug-resistant bacteria remain to grow and take over. (4) Some of the drug-resistant bacteria pass on their drug-resistance to other, non-resistant bacteria, increasing the numbers that are resistant, and causing more problems.
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