Antibiotics are chemical compounds used to kill or inhibit the growth of infectious organisms.

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Antibiotics

Introduction

(1) Antibiotics are chemical compounds used to kill or inhibit the growth of infectious organisms. Antibiotic refers generally to antibacterials. All antibiotics share the property of selective toxicity: They are more toxic to an invading organism than they are to an animal or human host. Penicillin is the most well known antibiotic and has been used to fight many infectious diseases, including syphilis, gonorrhea, tetanus, and scarlet fever. Another antibiotic, streptomycin, has been used to combat tuberculosis.

Against

The main problem scientists have come across where antibiotics are concerned is antibiotic resistance. (2) This is due to the large amount of antibiotics consumed by the nation as a whole. Many people believe that antibiotics are the answer to all illnesses such as the common cold or flu. Antibiotics are needed to fight infections caused by bacteria this means the infections caused by viruses, are totally different and need other forms of a cure. Very often patients wish to leave the doctors with an antibiotic prescription for their own peace of mind - a lot of it is psychological. (3) This result in them being oversubscribed when only a small percentage of people actually need