Which failure mode becomes likely when antibiotic concentrations fluctuate within a biofilm due to interrupted intravenous administration?

💡 Explanation

Interrupted antibiotic administration allows for periods of bacterial survival and growth, which selects for resistant strains. Specifically, the mechanism of efflux pump overexpression allows bacteria to pump out the antibiotic, increasing resistance because cells actively reduce intracellular drug concentration, therefore this failure mode is more likely, rather than decreased capsule production which impacts immune evasion.

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