Outline5 marksStandard
A 35-year-old patient with a common cold (caused by a virus) is prescribed penicillin by a doctor. The patient takes the full course but the cold symptoms persist. A week later, the patient develops a bacterial chest infection that does not respond to penicillin.
Outline how penicillin normally acts on bacteria, explain why it is ineffective against viruses, discuss the consequences of antibiotic resistance as illustrated by this scenario, and describe steps that can be taken to reduce the impact of antibiotic resistance.