Which of the following is bacterium resistant to most antibiotics and causes skin abscesses?

Which of the following is bacterium resistant to most antibiotics and causes skin abscesses?

• A. H1N1
• B. MRSA
• C. Whooping cough
• D. Avian flu

Answer: (B)

Antibiotic resistance in bacteria that cause skin infections is the key idea here. MRSA, which stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is a bacterium that has acquired resistance to many commonly used antibiotics, especially beta-lactams like methicillin. This resistance comes from genetic changes that produce a penicillin-binding protein with very low affinity for these drugs, making standard treatments less effective and allowing infections to persist and form abscesses. The other options are not the same kind of issue. H1N1 and avian flu are viruses, not bacteria, so concerns about antibiotic resistance don’t apply to them and they don’t typically cause skin abscesses. Whooping cough is caused by Bordetella pertussis, a bacterium, but it is not characteristically resistant to most antibiotics nor does it typically present as skin abscesses; it shows up mainly with prolonged coughing. MRSA best fits the description of a bacterium resistant to many antibiotics that causes skin abscesses.

Antibiotic resistance in bacteria that cause skin infections is the key idea here. MRSA, which stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is a bacterium that has acquired resistance to many commonly used antibiotics, especially beta-lactams like methicillin. This resistance comes from genetic changes that produce a penicillin-binding protein with very low affinity for these drugs, making standard treatments less effective and allowing infections to persist and form abscesses.

The other options are not the same kind of issue. H1N1 and avian flu are viruses, not bacteria, so concerns about antibiotic resistance don’t apply to them and they don’t typically cause skin abscesses. Whooping cough is caused by Bordetella pertussis, a bacterium, but it is not characteristically resistant to most antibiotics nor does it typically present as skin abscesses; it shows up mainly with prolonged coughing. MRSA best fits the description of a bacterium resistant to many antibiotics that causes skin abscesses.