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How we fight bacteria: Antibiotics

With our immune system we defend ourselves against a bacterial infection. Antibiotics can help us win the battle. When you report a bacterial infection to your physician, you are probably prescribed antibiotics. The term 'antibiotics' (literally 'against living things') is mainly used for substances that kill or prevent the growth of bacteria, as opposed to antiviral or antifungal substances. Antibiotics are not active against viral infections. The activity of antibiotics was discovered by Alexander Fleming (Source: PBS Online) ; and his story proves that antibiotics are not a human invention but a discovery. Antibiotics are produced by microorganisms (often molds) which don't want to share their nutrients with competitors. See here how a penicillium mold inhibits the growth of Staphylococcus bacteria (Access excellence). Nowadays antibiotics can be produced chemically to make them stronger and safer. Certain antibiotics act against certain groups of bacteria. Thus your physician can prescribe you the right stuff to treat your sore throat without wiping out all bacteria in your body. After all, you don't want to get rid of your commensals.
  • In the last half of the 20th Century, deaths from infectious diseases greatly decreased, partly due to the discovery of antibiotics. Bacteria can be real killers, especially for patients (like babies and young children) who do not have sufficient immunity. Even when an infection is not life-threatening, antibiotics can help reduce the damage that bacteria can do to your body. Do a fun-tutorial about antibiotics and learn about some famous discoveries (source: Uni Leicester). If your scores weren't satisfactory, check out the basics here: Antibiotics attack (Source: Howard Hughes Medical Institute).

    •   Antibiotics are not only used in human and veterinary medicine. They are equally effective against bacterial diseases in plants or aquaculture (Source: Natl. Aquaculture Association. Here is an excellent review on antibiotics in agronomy and horticulture (source: Natl. Health Med. Res. Council Australia).  More background information is provided in a lecture on the discovery of penicillin and the economic aspects of antibiotics in agriculture (Source: Uni Hawaii Dept. Botany).

    Antibiotics have frequently received negative publicity. Some people believe they are bad chemicals that should be avoided at all costs. It is important to know that they are our best tool against infectious diseases, and that in the era before antibiotics were applied, infectious diseases were a major cause of death. Nevertheless, the use and misuse of antibiotics has negative side effects. They can remain in the body for some time after application, and this can also be the case in animals used for meat production. In the In organic agricultural produce the use of antibiotics is therefore restricted or prohibited (source: Organic Trade Association). The application of antibiotics as a growth promoter in animals raises questions: Is agriculture promoting antibiotic resistance? (Source: The WhyFiles).


    Antibiotics are extremely important in medicine, but unfortunately bacteria can become resistant to them. Antibiotics have probably been around nearly as long as microorganisms have, and nature has provided bacteria with means to overcome their action. Resistance to antibiotics can become problematic, for it makes these powerful medicines completely ineffective. How do bacteria become resistant? (Source: FDA).  Some bacteria have learned to deal with practically all types of antibiotics we have available, and this can cause real problems in health institutions. Strict quarantine measures are needed to prevent the spread of such superbugs (Source: Austr. Broadcasting Company ) for we have little weapons left against them. Extremely resistant bacteria causing Tuberculosis (Source: M. Quinn) form a serious threat. If you want to read more on the challenge of antimicrobial resistance, check out this article (from Scientific American). A collection of news items on antibiotic resistance is provided here (Source: Chris King).

    In search of an alternative, scientists have seen the light: maybe UV light can kill bacteria in food and medical products (Source: Am. City Business Center). We could also learn from Nature to find new weapons for the combat of bacteria. For instance to use viruses that kill bacteria. these are called 'bacteriophages' and are the natural enemies of bacteria. You can read more about phagesin another display. In case you don't like the idea to fight bacteria with their own 'diseases', you probably like this 'new' invention even less: maggots are efficient cleaners of open wounds, eating away decayed flesh and preventing bacterial overgrowth, without doing further damage. Odd though it seems: maggots are used to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria in human medicine (source: S. Thomas).


    The content of this page is copyright of the Virtual Museum of Bacteria and was written by Dr. T. M. Wassenaar (curator), with support of the Foundation for Bacteriology.

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    Page last modified: 09 Mar 2007

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