Antibiotic Resistance

It's Your Health

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On this page:

• The issue
• Antibiotic resistance
• The causes of antibiotic resistance
• Safe use of antibiotics
• Reduce your risk
• The Government of Canada's role
• For more information

The issue

There is an increasing concern around the world that organisms like bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites are becoming resistant to the drugs used to fight them. An example of this is the increasing resistance to antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections. When this occurs, it can mean there are fewer effective antibiotics available to prevent and treat infections and infectious diseases, making treatment more difficult.

Antibiotic resistance

Until the 1940s, when antibiotic drugs were discovered, people with infections like tuberculosis,  pneumonia and  sexually transmitted infections often died because the available treatments were not very effective. With the discovery of new drugs, the ability to fight diseases improved dramatically. However, since then, some germs have become resistant to these drugs.

 Antimicrobial resistancehappens when a drug is no longer effective in killing or stopping the growth of particular microorganisms, like bacteria. The term antimicrobial refers to both natural and synthetic substances like antibiotics and disinfectants, which can kill or block the reproduction of microorganisms.

The causes of antibiotic resistance

A major cause of resistance is believed to be the overuse or inappropriate use of drugs like antibiotics in preventing or treating infections in people, animals and plants. Germs constantly adapt to their environment and have the ability to take on the characteristics of other germs. When antibiotics are used inappropriately, the weak bacteria are killed, while the stronger, more resistant ones survive and multiply. Germs that develop resistance to one antibiotic have the ability to develop resistance to another antibiotic. This is called cross-resistance.

Links have also been made between giving drugs to animals and the development of resistance in humans. Drugs are often given to food-producing animals to promote growth and to treat and prevent infections in the agri-food industry. Products are also sprayed on fruit trees to prevent or control disease. Drug-resistant organisms can then be transferred to humans in meat, milk, fruit or drinking water, adding to the resistance problem. An example of this is drug-resistant Salmonella, which can be transferred from animals to humans through the food chain.

Other factors that can cause resistance include an incorrect diagnosis that results in the inappropriate drug being prescribed, prescription of an antibiotic when the infection is caused by a virus, or not taking a prescribed antibiotic according to the healthcare professional's instructions (for example, not taking all of a prescription for the total amount of time required).

You can be exposed to drug-resistant germs in the same way you get other infections, through:

• contaminated food, water or soil
• unsafe sexual practices
• contact with infected people or animals
• contact with contaminated environmental surfaces
• during treatment in a clinic or hospital
•  Drug-resistant germs can also enter Canada through imported food or international travel.

Safe use of antibiotics

Proper diagnosis is the first step in the effective treatment of any infection. Visit your doctor for a proper assessment. Be aware that antibiotics are not effective against all infections caused by micro-organisms, for example  antibiotics are not effective against viruses, like cold or flu. Also, specific germs can be treated more effectively with drugs that are targeted to them. This often requires a laboratory test.

• Take medication as directed by your doctor or pharmacist. Do not stop taking prescribed medication part way through the course of treatment (unless you are having a serious adverse reaction) without first discussing it with your doctor. Even if you feel better, use the entire course of prescribed medication as directed to make sure that all of the germs are destroyed.
• Do not share prescription drugs with anyone else or take drugs prescribed to anyone else. Taking an inappropriate drug makes the resistance problem worse.
• Do not flush out-of-date or unused medication down the toilet, pour it down the sink, or put it in the garbage. If you do, this medication will end up in the water table, which could increase the drug resistance problem. Instead, check to see if your pharmacy has a drug recycling program that disposes of unused drugs in an environmentally safe manner. If your area does not have such a program, take the drugs to your municipal waste disposal depot for proper disposal.

Reduce your risk

You can help prevent and reduce drug resistance by taking the following steps:

• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Alcohol-based hand cleansers are useful when soap and water are not available. In most cases antibacterial soap is not necessary for safe, effective hand hygiene.
• Make sure you and your family are  vaccinated and keep all vaccinations up to date.
• Store, handle and prepare food safely. When preparing food, be sure to wash cutting boards and knives with detergent and water. Use bleach on surfaces where you have handled raw meat. Thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables that will be eaten raw.
• If you use well water, have it tested regularly.
• Encourage farmers to give antibiotics to their animals only when needed. 

The Government of Canada's role

The Government of Canada develops policies to address the antibiotic resistance issue and leads other activities, including research, surveillance and education.  

Health Canada and the  Public Health Agency of Canada work with other government departments and agencies in Canada and abroad to bring science and policy together. They provide financial support to a number of initiatives, like  research on antibiotic resistance and the  Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS). The CIPARS annual reports are available on the Public Health Agency of Canada's website.

The Government of Canada also works to reduce risk that chemicals may pose to Canadians and the environment. Our  Chemicals Management Plan sets clear priorities for assessing and managing hundred of chemicals.

For more information

To report a side effect (adverse reaction) or drug interaction with any health product, contact Health Canada at 1-866-234-2345 (toll free in Canada), or visit the MedEffect Canada web section.

To report complaints about cosmetics Visit Health Canada's cosmetic program or call toll free at 1-866-662-0666.

• Health Canada's web section on Antimicrobial Resistance
• Public Health Agency of Canada's  web section on  Antimicrobial Resistance
• Public Health Agency of Canada,  Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS)
• It's Your Health, Hand Washing
•  Frequently Asked Questions about triclosan
• The Government of Canada's  Chemical Substances website
• Health Canada, Safety of Cosmetic Ingredients
• Health Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist
• It's Your Health - Labelling the Ingredients in Cosmetics
• Warnings and advisories about cosmetics
• Health Canada, Safe Food Handling Tips

For industry and professionals

• Health Canada's  Veterinary Drugs Directorate main page
•  Canadian Bacterial Surveillance Network (CBSN)
•  The Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Alliance
•  The Northern Antibiotic Resistance Partnership
•  The Canadian Veterinarians Medical Association
• Chemical Substances Screening Assessment  Pilot Project
• Health Canada's general requirements for cosmetics

Related resources

• It's Your Health, Human Health and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA): An Overview
• For safety information about food, health and consumer products, visit the Healthy Canadians website.
• For more articles on health and safety issues go to the It's Your Health web section

You can also call toll free at 1-866-225-0709 or TTY at 1-800-267-1245*

Updated March 2012
Original: October 2002
©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Health, 2012

Catalogue # : H13-7/97-2011E-PDF
ISBN # : 978-1-100-17817-2