Should We Be Concerned?

In the microbiology class that I am currently teaching, I had the students isolate their own skin bacteria and test their isolates for antibiotic resistance and sensitivity.


The breakdown:

• 14/45 resistant to ampicillin
• 4/45 resistant to trimethoprim
• 3/45 resistant to ampicillin and tetracycline
• 2/45 resistant to ampicillin and trimethoprim
• 1/45 resistant to ampicillin and streptomycin
• 1/45 resistant to ampicillin, streptomycin and trimethoprim

So a total of 25 out of 45 students are carrying around antibiotic resistant skin bacteria, most likely some species of Staphylococcus.