The Growing Global Threat Of Antibiotic Resistance Ielts Reading Answers [ 100% Recent ]

The discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928 marked the dawn of the modern antimicrobial era, fundamentally transforming global medicine. Before this milestone, minor lacerations, routine surgical procedures, and common respiratory infections frequently culminated in fatal septicemia. The introduction of antibiotics dramatically escalated life expectancy and permitted the development of advanced medical interventions, such as organ transplantation and cancer chemotherapy, which rely heavily on prophylactic antimicrobial cover. However, this golden age of medicine is rapidly deteriorating. The very drugs that revolutionized healthcare are losing their efficacy at an alarming rate, precipitating a catastrophic scenario often termed the "post-antibiotic apocalypse." Paragraph B

Read the following text, which simulates an IELTS Reading passage, and answer the questions that follow. The Looming Post-Antibiotic Era

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text?

To combat superbugs, a unified strategy called the ____________ approach must be adopted. This framework highlights the links between humans, animals, and our environment. Policymakers need to implement tighter laws to outlaw the use of antibiotics for 12. ____________ in livestock farming. Additionally, international organizations should offer 13. ____________ to jumpstart research and motivate biotech companies to create new medications. Answer Key and Explanations Questions 1–5: Paragraph Matching The discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming in

As Joe Cranston, Ph.D., explains, “Whenever antibiotics are used, there is selective pressure for resistance to occur. More and more organisms develop resistance to more and more drugs”. Worse still, bacteria can spread resistance genes through a process called ‘horizontal gene transfer’, where one bacterium passes resistance to another without needing to be its parent. A single small circle of DNA called a plasmid can flit from one type of bacterium to another, providing resistance to multiple drugs at once.

Human behaviour has accelerated this process. Many of us have come to take antibiotics for granted—a child develops a sore throat, and soon a bottle of pink medicine makes everything better. Linda McCaig, a scientist at the CDC, notes that “many consumers have an expectation that when they’re ill, antibiotics are the answer. Most of the time the illness is viral, and antibiotics are not the answer”. The overuse and misuse of antibiotics also occurs in agriculture, where livestock are routinely given the drugs, creating breeding grounds for resistant bacteria that enter the food chain and the environment.

The pharmaceutical industry has low incentive to invest in new antibiotics because they are not as profitable as drugs for chronic illnesses. 3. IELTS Reading Simulation: Passage Analysis However, this golden age of medicine is rapidly

Users typically need to identify which paragraph (A-F) contains specific information: Global Threat of Antibiotic Resistance | PDF - Scribd

Second-line antibiotic treatments are generally safer and cheaper than first-line therapies.

Explanation: Found in Paragraph F: "...a highly coordinated, multi-pronged strategy known as the 'One Health' approach..." To combat superbugs, a unified strategy called the

Resistance arises through several genetic mechanisms. Bacterial DNA may mutate spontaneously; drug-resistant tuberculosis arises this way. Alternatively, a process called transformation allows one bacterium to take up DNA from another. The most frightening method, however, is through small circles of DNA called plasmids . A single plasmid can flit from one bacterium to another, carrying several different resistance genes at once. At the same time, some resistant microbes alter their cell walls so antibiotics cannot bind, while others produce enzymes that actively dismantle the drug.

A description of how stopping medical treatment early strengthens bacteria.

Addressing the growing global threat of antibiotic resistance requires a multi-faceted approach that involves governments, healthcare professionals, industries, and individuals. Some potential solutions include:

The passage states that developing new classes of antibiotics is "financially unappealing for drug companies," making it the opposite of lucrative. 6. vertical evolution