Populations with a high prevalence of AIDS-immunocompromised people are more likely to see the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, according to a study coauthored by researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and published in PLOS One.
“People with weakened immune systems are more vulnerable to opportunistic bacterial infections and are therefore frequently prescribed antibiotics to prevent or treat these infections,” said Nina Fefferman, a professor in UT’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and coauthor of the study. “This increases the exposure of those bacteria to antibiotics, giving them more chances to evolve to become resistant to the medication and contributing to the current serious public health threat of drug-resistant diseases.”