Learn how increased use of one type of antibiotic can increase resistance to other types of antibiotics, in this video excerpted from FRONTLINE: The Trouble with Antibiotics. After two veterinarians noticed that cattle were developing infections that were resisting treatment with cephalosporins (a class of antibiotics that is very important to humans in treating certain infections in children and pregnant women), they conducted a study to see if they could preserve their effectiveness. The study produced a surprising result: the increased use of a different type of antibiotic (tetracycline) on farms caused bacteria to become resistant to cephalosporins, indicating that the widespread use of tetracyclines on farms may accelerate the overall spread of antibiotic resistance and have impacts on human health. This resource is part of the FRONTLINE Collection.

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