Question

Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem in hospitals. Some antibiotics become less effective in clearing infections over time.

Currently, a particular antibiotic can successfully treat 23 out of 26 cases of urinary tract infections.
After this antibiotic has been in use for a few years, some bacterial strains become resistant and the medication is found to be 3.52% less effective. What is the probability that it can cure an infection now? Express using the method of your choice

Answer 1

Using the information given, we can calculate the new probability of the antibiotic successfully treating a urinary tract infection:

Old success rate = 23/26 = 0.8846
New success rate = 0.8846 - (0.0352 * 0.8846) = 0.8546

Therefore, the probability that the antibiotic can cure an infection now is 85.46%.