MRSA's resistance is described as being resistant to what?

• A. Most antibiotics
• B. Most antifungals
• C. Most antivirals
• D. Most steroids

Answer: (A)

MRSA’s resistance highlights how bacteria can become impervious to many antibiotics through changes in their identifiable drug targets. The mecA gene changes the penicillin-binding protein so that methicillin and most beta-lactam antibiotics no longer bind effectively, rendering them ineffective. Because of this, MRSA is described as resistant to most antibiotics used against Staphylococcus aureus, which is why clinicians turn to alternative drugs such as vancomycin, linezolid, or daptomycin. Antifungals and antivirals target fungi and viruses, not bacteria, so they aren’t relevant here, and steroids aren’t antibiotics and don’t treat bacterial infections.