Antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed drugs used in human medicine and can be lifesaving drugs. However, up to 50% of the time antibiotics are not optimally prescribed, often done so when not needed, incorrect dosing or duration.
The germs that contaminate food can become resistant because of the use of antibiotics in people and in food animals. For some germs, like the bacteria Salmonella and Campylobacter, it is primarily the use of antibiotics in food animals that increases resistance. Because of the link the between antibiotic use in food-producing animals and the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant infections in humans, antibiotics that are medically important to treating infections in humans should be used in food-producing animals only under veterinary oversight and only to manage and treat infectious disease, not to promote growth.
The other major factor in the growth of antibiotic resistance is spread of the resistant strains of bacteria from person to person, or from the non-human sources in the environment.
藥物耐藥趨勢抗生素是最常用的處方藥之一， 可挽救生命。 然而， 高達50%使用的抗生素並非針對疾病的最佳藥物選擇， 通常是不需要的情況下使用， 或使用劑量和時間不正確。
人類使用抗生素或食用被抗生素污染的動物可產生耐藥性。 如沙門氏菌和彎曲桿菌主要用於養殖業增強動物抵抗力。 由於養殖動物使用抗生素， 人類食用後會產生抗生素耐藥性， 應在獸醫的監督和指導下， 對養殖的動物管理並使用抗生素治療疾病， 而不是濫用抗生素促進動物生長。
其他導致耐藥性上升的原因， 如人與人之間的傳播， 或環境中非人類來源的耐藥菌。