Which of the following are the reasons for the occurrence of multi-drug resistance in microbial pathogens in India?
- 1.Genetic predisposition of some people
- 2.Taking incorrect doses of antibiotics to cure diseases
- 3.Using antibiotics in livestock farming
- 4.Multiple chronic diseases in some people
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only
Multi-drug resistance builds up when disease-causing microbes are repeatedly exposed to antibiotics they can survive, so wrong use of antibiotics in people and in farm animals is the cause. A patient's genes or other illnesses do not make a microbe resistant.
- ✗ 1. Resistance is a trait of the microbe, not of the patient. It spreads when misused antibiotics let the hardiest microbes survive and multiply; a person's genetic make-up plays no part in that.
- ✓ 2. Wrong doses, or stopping a course early, leave part of the bacterial population alive to multiply. WHO names the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials as the driver of drug-resistant pathogens.
- ✓ 3. Antibiotics given to food-producing animals expose bacteria on farms to the same drugs. India's animal husbandry department has advised all States and Union Territories to stop the use of antibiotics in animal feed for this reason.
- ✗ 4. Long-term illnesses may mean more infections and more medicines, but it is the misuse of antibiotics, not the patient's other disease, that produces resistant microbes.
Remember · Antimicrobial resistance is created by misuse and overuse of antibiotics, in humans and in animals. It is a property of the microbe, not of the patient.
Sources
- WHO fact sheet: Antimicrobial resistance ↗ “The misuse and overuse of antimicrobial are driving the development and spread of drug-resistant pathogens.”
- Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question 3578 (2 April 2025), Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India ↗ “Department has issued advisories to all State/UTs for judicious use of antibiotics in treatment of food producing animals, for stopping the use of antibiotics in animal feed and for general awareness.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·