Healthcare and Life Sciences Quiz: Antibiotics, MRSA, and Resistance

This quiz delves into critical aspects of healthcare and life sciences, focusing on the mode of action and resistance mechanisms of beta-lactam antibiotics. It explores how these antibiotics interact with bacterial cell membranes, particularly inhibiting essential enzymes like transpeptidase and the role of penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) in antibiotic resistance. The quiz also addresses the challenges posed by Staphylococcus aureus, including the Methicillin-resistant strain (MRSA), common in healthcare settings. It examines the sources and transmission of MRSA, such as contaminated hands and carriers, and highlights preventative strategies like hand hygiene, patient isolation, and hospital-wide infection control programs to combat the spread of this resistant bacteria. The document references key research papers that support these concepts.

Healthcare and Life Sciences Quiz
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Healthcare and Life Sciences Quiz
Question 1
The mode of action of the beta lactam antibiotics is strongly associated with the nature of the
bacterial cell membrane which also determines the non-enzymatic anti-pathogenic activities.
Primarily, the action of the antibiotic is usually determined by the various interactions between
the drug and the cell membrane as well as the inhibition of enzymes essential to the function of
the cell membrane through concomitant inhibition. The antibiotics therefore inhibit the action of
enzymes such as transepeptidase which is involved in the final stages of peptidoglycan
biosynthesis (KONG, et al., 2010). The enzymes targeting the cytoplasm membrane therefore
combine with the antibiotic at molecular level hence the name penicillin binding proteins. The
antibiotic action is usually affected by its ability to stop the cell division and growth then initiate
and autolytic action that leads to tissue death.
However there are a phenomenon that usually leads to the resistance of Gram-positive bacteria
to beta lactam antibiotics. Such situations are usually influenced by the interactions between the
antibiotics and the bacteria. The main factor influencing the resistance of the bacteria to the drug
involves the nature of the penicillin binding proteins whose modifications create the drug
resistance. There are further actions by the beta lactam antibiotics that make them able to pass
through bacteria with two membranes. Some of the examples of bacteria that exhibit such levels
of resistance include enterococci, pneumococcus and staphylococcus. Such PBP modifications
are usually rare in the Gram-negative bacteria (Kohanski, Dwyer & Collins, 2010).

Question 2
Staphylococcus aureus is a common problem in healthcare environments, especially Methicillin-
resistant strain MRSA. Hospitaal management usually isolates MRSA strains which are usually
susceptible to vancomycin intermediate resistance frequently and quickly which makes it
difficult to deal with the disease properly. The spread of MRSA is usually a common
phenomenon in hospitals and is commonly contracted by individuals with septic lesions and are
admitted in hospitals where they acquire the bacterial infection (Solberg, 2000). Other major
sources of staphylococcus aureus in healthcare environments usually involve carried sites in
patients and other individuals that frequently use the area. Some of the most consistent sites
include the anterior nares and perineal areas. Nasal and perineal carriers most commonly
experience skin contamination and aerial transmission.
The main method of transmission is usually due to lack of basic hygiene such as contact with
unwashed hands. Therefore the best method of preventing the transmission of the disease has
involved the use of disinfectants when washing hands to keep from possible carriage. Some of
the strategies that have been adopted in healthcare centers have involved the isolation and the
screening of new patients (Solberg, 2000). In addition, patients who are suspected to have
contracted MRSA with intermediate vancomycin resistance disease they are usually kept aside
from the ones not infected. Other methods that should be adopted include hospital wide
implementations such as a program for infection controls. Additionally, the hospital may
establish antibiotic policies that work to prevent development of resistance (Bischoff, 2007). It is
important to implement active preventative action against spreading of MRSA.

References
Bischoff, W. E., Tucker, B. K., Wallis, M. L., Reboussin, B. A., Pfaller, M. A., Hayden, F. G., &
Sherertz, R. J. (2007). Preventing the airborne spread of Staphylococcus aureus by persons with
the common cold: effect of surgical scrubs, gowns, and masks. Infection Control & Hospital
Epidemiology, 28(10), 1148-1154.
KONG, K. F., Schneper, L., & Mathee, K. (2010). Beta‐lactam antibiotics: from antibiosis to
resistance and bacteriology. Apmis, 118(1), 1-36.
Kohanski, M. A., Dwyer, D. J., & Collins, J. J. (2010). How antibiotics kill bacteria: from targets
to networks. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 8(6), 423-435.
Solberg, C. O. (2000). Spread of Staphylococcus aureus in hospitals: causes and prevention.
Scandinavian journal of infectious diseases, 32(6), 587-595.