Antibiotics are drugs used to treat bacterial or fungal infections (MNT, 2013) by slowing metabolic processes in the bacterium or directly killing it (Mobley, 2006). By slowing the growth of the bacteria, the body's immune system can take over the drug and fight the infection with its own defenses. Antibiotics were first discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928 (MNT, 2013), when he discovered that fungal growth kills bacterial cells, but does not harm other cells, such as human cells. There are both advantages and disadvantages to taking antibiotics. Some advantages are; many antibiotics can successfully treat more than one infection and are also easy to administer (SuperPages, undated). There are also some disadvantages, such as; many antibiotics cause side effects such as nausea and headaches. They also destroy beneficial bacteria that the body needs, such as E. coli in the intestine, when they destroy the infection. The greatest risk associated with antibiotics is antibiotic resistance (Thompson, undated). Antibiotic resistance is the ability of a microorganism to resist the effects of an antibiotic, thus becoming resistant to the drug and continuing to multiply even in the presence of the antibiotic. (APUA, 2013). Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria mutate/evolve in a way that reduces or eliminates a drug's effect on them. This can be done in three ways; some bacteria have mechanisms that can neutralize the antibiotic before it can cause damage. Others can actually pump out the antibiotic before it starts to work, and some bacteria can change the appearance of the antibiotic so that it doesn't affect the bacteria (RxList, undated). One of the m...... middle of paper ...the community and the entire world, as infections spread and if resistant bacteria continue to spread and mutate, there will no longer be any drugs to fight infections which were previously treatable. The government is responsible for educating the people of South Africa, as antibiotic resistance is not a well-known medical problem at the moment. The aim of this research project is to determine whether parents in a privileged society know the consequences of antibiotic resistance and what its causes are. It will therefore be clear that if adults from a privileged society are not aware of the seriousness of antibiotic resistance, people from non-privileged societies will be even less aware. If this is the case, more pressure needs to be put on the government to educate the country and help curb antibiotic resistance before there are no more antibiotics in the world..