Bacterial persistence in clinical microbiology is a phenomenon where the bacterial subpopulation of any bacterial strain, without having been exposed to an antibiotic, is already persistent to it. In clinical bacterial strains, persistence is not tested at all and the role of this phenomenon in the treatment of bacterial infections has not yet been evaluated. Therefore, the aim of the article is to highlight the significance of this probably global phenomenon in the treatment of bacterial infections with antibiotics. Also described are the mechanisms of its origin and some manner that could potentially reduce the frequency of these antibiotic-resistant bacterial cells in the bacterial population.

Department of Medical Microbiology 2nd Faculty of Medicine Charles University and Motol University Hospital Prague Czech Republic e mail