Which of the following describes the appearance of a new infection with a different strain during antibiotic treatment?

Study for the Cengage Microbiology Test with helpful multiple choice questions and detailed explanations. Ace your exam with confidence!

During antibiotic therapy, the normal microbial flora are disrupted, reducing competition and allowing a different microorganism to establish an infection. This secondary infection by a new strain or species is called a superinfection. Antibiotics can create ecological space and selective pressure that favors resistant or opportunistic organisms, so a new infectious process can emerge even as the original infection is being treated. In contrast, recrudescence means the same infection reappears after partial control because the original pathogen was not fully eradicated. Colonization is the presence of microbes without causing disease, and an allergic reaction is a hypersensitivity to the drug, not an infection.