How do I catch an antibiotic-resistant infection?

There are three ways in which you can get an antibiotic-resistant infection:

• You can develop antibiotic-resistant infections when you take an antibiotic. The bacteria could figure out how to outsmart the antibiotic and stay alive. In that case, you can transmit these resistant bacteria to others and they too may become ill.
• You can catch antibiotic resistant-infections from people or objects around you that are infected with resistant bacteria. Not properly washing hands can increase your risk of catching all kinds of infections.
• You can develop an antibiotic-resistant infection when the bacteria inside your body change; it mutates or acquires genes that allow them to resist antibiotic treatment.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria can also develop in pigs, chickens, cattle and other farm animals, which are exposed to low doses of antibiotics in their daily feed. These resistant bacteria can then spread to humans, causing antibiotic-resistant infections. Guidelines are being developed to address this concern.