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Chapter 22: Q. 42 (page 572)

Many people use antimicrobial soap to kill bacteria on their hands. However, overuse may actually increase the risk of infection. How could this occur?

Short Answer

Expert verified

Soap kills thebacteria present on theskin indiscriminately. Apart from killing harmful bacteria, they can even kill the good bacteria present on the skin. When the elimination of thesenon-pathogenic bacteria takes place, thepathogenic bacteria can colonize the surface, which is empty.

Step by step solution

01

Introduction

Our body isvulnerable toinvasion by different kinds of microbes, however, some of themicrobes are evenbeneficial to the human body. The pathogenic microbes cause harm to the host, and this feature helps to differentiate them from the non-pathogenic microbes.

02

Explanation

When one washes the hands, the prime motive is to kill all the kinds of microbes present on the skin. However, over-washing with soap may even eradicate beneficial bacteria from the skin along with harmful ones. If the elimination of these non-pathogenic bacteria takes place then the empty surface on the skin of the hands gets even getcolonized by the pathogenic bacteria. This cannot be a good sign as one should not over-use soap for washing hands.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Synthetic compounds found in an organism but not normally produced or expected to be present in that organism are called _____.

a. pesticides
b. bioremediators
c. recalcitrant compounds

d. xenobiotics

MRSA has emerged as a serious infectious disease, with the first case of methicillin-resistant S. aureus being detected in 1961. Why are medical professionals so concerned when antibiotics exist that can kill MRSA?

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  3. MRSA could acquire additional antibiotic resistance genes from other bacteria to become a “super bug.”
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Which of these statements is true?

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  2. An antibiotic is any substance produced by a

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  3. An antibiotic is any substance produced by a

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  4. An antibiotic is any substance produced by a

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b. eukaryotic cells

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