The Growing Global Threat Of Antibiotic Resistance Ielts Reading Answers Top Verified

Paragraph B explains the science of how bacteria adapt, survive mutations, and "exchange genetic material horizontally" through conjugation, transformation, and transduction. 3. viii (Human errors driving accelerated resistance)

Paragraph B describes horizontal gene transfer via plasmids, stating: "bacteria can exchange genetic material horizontally across different species via plasmids... a harmless environmental bacterium can transfer resistance genes directly to a lethal human pathogen."

: Development of new alternatives is vital to fighting the threat. Core Passage Themes Global Threat of Antibiotic Resistance | PDF - Scribd Paragraph B explains the science of how bacteria

Answer: Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today, as it makes infections harder to treat and threatens our ability to treat a wide range of illnesses.

For nearly a century, antibiotics have been the bedrock of modern medicine. Since Alexander Fleming’s chance discovery of penicillin in 1928, these miracle compounds have transformed public health, turning once-fatal bacterial infections into routine, treatable ailments. Procedures we take for granted today—from routine dental surgeries and cesarean sections to complex organ transplants and cancer chemotherapies—rely fundamentally on the safety net provided by antimicrobial drugs. However, this golden era of medicine is under severe duress. Across the globe, bacteria are evolving faster than our capacity to treat them, giving rise to a phenomenon known as antibiotic resistance (AMR), which experts now classify as one of the preeminent health crises of the twenty-first century. Across the globe

Section E explicitly details the future economic ("financial toll") impact of AMR.

New antibiotics are typically taken by patients for a longer duration than medications for chronic illnesses. Answer Key and Explanations turning once-fatal bacterial infections into routine

of antibiotics leads to the production of resistant bacterial strains. Key Themes to Remember Causes of Resistance