What is an antibiotic and antibiotic resistance?
An antibiotic is a medicine that kills or inhibits the growth of microbes, such as bacteria and fungi. The term “antibiotic” originally referred to a natural compound produced by a fungus or another microorganism that kills bacteria which cause disease in humans or animals. Alexander Fleming discovered the first antibiotic, penicillin, in 1927. Some antibiotics may be synthetic compounds (not produced by microorganisms) that can also kill or inhibit the growth of microbes. Technically, the term “antimicrobial agent” refers to both natural and synthetic compounds; however, many people use the word “antibiotic” to refer to both. Although antibiotics have many beneficial effects, their use has created the new problem of antibiotic resistance. What is antibiotic resistance? Antibiotic resistance is the ability of bacteria or other microbes to resist the effects of an antibiotic. Bacteria can do this through several mechanisms. Some bacteria develop the ability to neutralize the antibiotic
