At the turn of the century, complications of common bacterial infections, such as pneumonia and blood poisoning, were the leading causes of death. Sir Alexander Fleming's discovery of a penicillin-producing mold in 1943 ushered in the era of antibiotics. Antibiotics have been so effective in combating bacterial infection that in the decades since, infectious disease seemed a scourge of the past. In the dawn of a new century, ever adaptable microorganisms are regrouping to form deadly combinations and drug resistant strains. Because drug-resistant bacteria threatens entire populations, as well as individuals, Pediatrician and Public Health Researcher Mathuram Santosham cautions patients to be careful with the antibiotics still remaining and warns against their misuse.
Antibiotics are any substances that inhibit or kill certain microorganisms.
They can either kill bacteria or inhibit its growth. Antibiotics become ineffective when bacteria develops resistance to them, through over-use or misuse. For example, weaker germs are the first to succumb to an initial dosage of antibiotics. If the prescribed dosage is discontinued, perhaps because a patient begins to feel better, the remaining, more resistant bacteria can multiply, passing down their resistance to their offspring. These, in turn, can undergo genetic alterations, called mutations, creating a new, possibly more virulent strain of the infection, which the antibiotic can no longer destroy.