Observations on the in Vivo and in Vitro Development of Bacterial Resistance to Streptomycin

Abstract

Micro-organisms rapidly develop resistance to streptomycin or streptothricin upon exposure to these agents. The rate of increase and the degree of resistance induced is more marked in the case of streptomycin, which appears also to cause marked morphological changes in the organism. The importance of a uniform media for determining sensitivity of an organism to an antibiotic is discussed and the effects of constituent variations noted. Oral administration of streptomycin to rats resulted in a rapid increase in the number of resistant organisms.