Bacterial resistance in South America

The emergence of resistant strains of bacteria is directly related to the selection of chemotherapeutic agents, and the character of the resistance changes with changes in use-frequency of the various antibiotics. In recent years with increasing use of beta-lactam antibiotics, there has been an increased incidence of microorganisms that are resistant by virtue of their ability to produce beta-lactamase enzymes which destroy the beta-lactam antibiotics. The development of beta-lactamase inhibitors which may be used in combination with the beta-lactam antibiotics has been a significant advance for the therapy of gynecologic infections in South America.