What happened before antibiotics where invented? And who invented them?
Before antibiotics were invented there use to be no cure for many diseases and many people died because of this reason. It was not until 1940 when the first safe and used antibiotic was invented called “Penicillin” Alexander flaming was the one who invented it. It cured many soldier in the Second World War and he won 25 honorary degrees, metals, 18 prizes and a membership in 87 scientific academies and societies. He also received the Nobel Prize in 1945.
How bacteria become resistant to antibiotics?
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Preventing antibiotic from getting its targets- Bacteria hide from the antibiotic just as we do with someone you know is going to kill you. One way they use is to prevent it from being taken up at all. Bacteria do this by changing the permeability of their membranes or by reducing the number of channels available for drugs to diffuse through
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Changing the targets- Many antibiotics work by sticking to their target and preventing it from interacting with other molecules inside the cell. Some bacteria respond by changing the structure of the target (or even replacing it within another molecule altogether) so that the antibiotic can no longer recognize it or bind to it.
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Destroying the antibiotics- Rather than simply pushing the antibiotics aside or setting up molecular blockades, some bacteria survive by destroying their enemy directly. For example, some kinds of bacteria produce enzymes called beta-lactamases that chew up penicillin.
- Mutating
Antibiotic-Method of resistance
Chloramphenicol-reduce uptake into cell
Tetracycline- active efflux from the cell
Β-lactams, Erythromycin, Lincomycin- eliminates or reduces binding of antibiotic to cell target
Β-lactams, Aminoglycosides, Chloramphenicol- enzymatic cleavage or modification to inactivate antibiotic molecule
Sulfonamides, Trimethoprim- metabolic bypass of inhibited reaction overproduction of antibiotic target (titration)
Ways to prevent antibiotic resistance
The most important ways to prevent antibiotic resistance are:
- Minimize unnecessary prescribing and overprescribing of antibiotics. You can do so by not getting an antibiotic when you have a viral infection because antibiotics don’t work on a virus
- Complete the entire course of the prescribed antibiotic so that it can be fully effective.
- Practice good hygiene and use appropriate infection control procedures.
- Wash hands before and after food handling, going to the toilet and changing nappies.
- Cover your nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing.
- Use tissues to blow or wipe your nose.
- Dispose of tissues properly, either in the rubbish or toilet.
- Do not spit.
- Stay at home if you are unwell and cannot manage your normal requirements of the day.
- Do not send children to child care, crèche or school if they are unwell.
- If you continue to feel unwell, go back to the doctor.
All these unnecessary prescriptions are bad for your health because as Associate Professor Collignon Says "Antibiotic resistance is an inevitable consequence of [antibiotic] use, the more you use them the more resistance you will get.” There so many challenge to overcome before we can cure the resistant bacteria as it is evolving and learning more and more on how to defend it self.
Conclusion
In conclusion bacteria is evolving therefore learning how to fight against our antibiotics. As they generations pass we will also know how to fight the evolved forms of the bacteria as we learned already in the past how to fight bacteria and other microorganisms. And this cycle will continue for ever until a one of the microorganism or we die. And we also find new bacterial diseases which we have no antibiotic for and some virus is also incurable or we have found no cure. But all is well and due to all the help of antibotics an cures peoples life span has increased by 20% from the 19th century.
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