How does not completing a course of antibiotics lead to increased immunity within a population of bacteria?

As you take the antibiotics, it begins to kill bacteria causing infection within your body, however not all bacteria are created equal, and some are more resilient to the antibiotics than others. Naturally, the weakest bacteria die off first, so as you keep taking the drug, you are only left with the hardiest, most resilient ones that take the most antibiotics to kill, its normally about this time that you'll start to feel better.

However, if you suddenly stop taking the antibiotics, these bacteria will still remain, and then start to multiply again. What this will result in is an entirely new population of bacteria that all have this resistant trait, and so will now require even more antibiotics in order to clear the infection

(I would include a diagram with dots representing bacteria, with darker ones being the more resistant ones, to visually demonstrate what it might look like as the proportions change)

RI
Answered by Rob I. Biology tutor

2952 Views

See similar Biology GCSE tutors

Related Biology GCSE answers

All answers ▸

A student investigates phototropism in wheat seedlings. She cuts the tips off some of her seedlings. She leaves the seedlings in the window. Two days later the seedlings have bent towards the light. Describe and explain these findings.


Name two features of a plant cell that are not found in animal cells


Compare and contrast eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells.


What kind of reaction is photosynthesis and what is it's product used for?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning