The economic implications of this biological threat are catastrophic. When first-line antibiotics fail, doctors must resort to second- or third-line drugs. These alternative medications are frequently significantly more expensive, require longer hospital stays, and carry a higher risk of severe side effects. For example, treating multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis requires months of painful intravenous therapy rather than a simple course of oral pills. The financial strain on global healthcare systems is immense, and the loss of labor productivity threatens to destabilize fragile economies.
"...bacteria can share resistance genes horizontally with entirely different species through mechanisms like conjugation..." The economic implications of this biological threat are
Pharmaceutical companies prioritize drugs for chronic conditions because they are more profitable than antibiotics. Questions 12–14 require longer hospital stays