[js1138]

There is a great deal of crap out there about antibiotics "causing" bacteria to mutate.

First, antibiotics don't cause mutations.

Second, resistant strains develop in contageous diseases, which anthrax is not.

In order for a mutated form to spread it must first survive and then infect another host. This could be done rather quickly in the laboratory, but not easily in the wild.

[motexva]

The bacteria isn't mutated by the antibiotics. The antibiotics kill off most of the bacteria except the bacteria that has mutated characteristics which make it antibiotic resistant. Those bacteria, unaffected by the antibiotics, multiply and you have a antibiotic-resistant strain. It's called evolution.

[arielb]

yes but it would lead to other resistant strains of bacteria. We'd have all kinds of 'bugs' that will be resistant to the strongest antibiotic we have. In fact in asia, cipro is useless against certain forms of gonorrhea