Antibiotics

When Antibiotics Quit Working

When they first began to be used, antibiotics were considered miracle drugs because they cured infections that normally killed many people. Over the decades, these compounds have come to be a common treatment for bacterial infections. But as the use of antibiotics has increased, a seriously dangerous side-effect has developed: antibiotic resistant bacteria. Almost every bacteria that has been treated with antibiotics over the years has become more resistant to the effectiveness of antibiotic treatments. As a result, bacterial infections are more difficult than ever to treat and infections that have no loner been seen as a threat to humans are beginning to return and threatening people once again.

It was in 1928 that Alexander Fleming discovered the first antibiotic, called penicillin. Antibiotics are "natural compounds produced by a fungus or another microorganism that kills bacteria which cause disease in humans or animals." ("Antibiotic Resistance...
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