superbug
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: 1. A highly destructive insect pest: A strain of an insect pest that is accidentally introduced to a new region and causes severe damage to a wide range of crops. 2. A drug-resistant bacterium: A strain of bacteria that has developed resistance to multiple or all commonly used antibiotics, making infections very difficult to treat.
Usage Examples
- Insect Pest:
- The agricultural agency is monitoring the spread of the new superbug that threatens citrus groves.
- Farmers are concerned that this superbug could devastate this season's vegetable harvest.
- Drug-Resistant Bacterium:
- The hospital implemented strict protocols to prevent an outbreak of the superbug.
- Doctors are worried about the rise of a superbug resistant to our last-line antibiotics.
Advanced Usage
- The term is often used in public health and news headlines to emphasize the severity and threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
- "The rise of the superbug poses a major global health crisis."
Variants and Related Words
- MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus): A specific and common type of bacterial superbug.
- Multidrug-resistant (MDR): A technical term describing bacteria resistant to multiple antimicrobial drugs.
- Extensively drug-resistant (XDR): A technical term for bacteria resistant to almost all antibiotics.
- Pandemic strain: A term sometimes used for a superbug with potential for widespread outbreak.
Synonyms
- For bacteria: Drug-resistant bacterium, multidrug-resistant pathogen, untreatable infection.
- For insect: Invasive pest, destructive pest.
Related Phrases
- Antibiotic resistance: The broader phenomenon of bacteria evolving to survive antibiotics.
- Drug-resistant infection: An infection caused by a superbug or resistant bacterium.
Noun
- a strain of pest accidentally imported into Florida from the Middle East then spread to California where it is a very serious pest feeding on almost all vegetable crops and poinsettias
- a strain of bacteria that is resistant to all antibiotics