Consider the following statements:
- 1.Biofilms can form on medical implants within human tissues.
- 2.Biofilms can form on food and food processing surfaces.
- 3.Biofilms can exhibit antibiotic resistance.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3
All three statements are true. A biofilm is a community of microbes attached to a surface and wrapped in a protective matrix; it can grow on implants inside the body and on food and food-processing equipment, and the microbes in it survive antibiotics far better than free-floating ones.
- ✓ 1. Biofilms form on medical implants and other devices in the body and cause serious chronic infections that are hard to clear.
- ✓ 2. Food and food-processing surfaces give biofilms nutrients to grow on, which makes them a food-safety problem.
- ✓ 3. The biofilm lifestyle makes bacteria more resistant to antibiotics and to the body's immune defences.
Remember · Biofilm = microbes stuck to a surface in a protective matrix. Found on implants and food surfaces; tolerates antibiotics, so infections turn chronic.
Sources
- NIH National Library of Medicine (PMC), The Role of Bacterial Biofilm in Antibiotic Resistance and Food Contamination ↗ “Biofilm is a critical problem in the medical sector since it is formed on medical implants within human tissue and involved in a multitude of serious chronic infections. … Food and food processing surface become an ideal environment for biofilm formation where there are sufficient nutrients for microbial growth and attachment. … the biofilm phenotype that these bacteria adapt during device-associated infection facilitates increased resistance to antibiotics and host immune defenses”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·