Antibiotics are chemical substances produced by certain microbes that have the power to kill or slow down the growth of other disease-causing microbes, specifically bacteria.

The Discovery of Penicillin

The first antibiotic was Penicillin. It was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1929. He noticed that a mold called Penicillium notatum prevented the growth of the bacterium Staphylococcus in his laboratory dish. This accidental discovery changed modern medicine forever. It proved that microbes could be used to protect humans from other harmful bacteria.

How Antibiotics Work

Antibiotics act as tiny warriors inside your body. They target specific parts of a bacterial cell that human cells do not have. For example, some antibiotics destroy the bacterial cell wall, which causes the bacteria to burst and die. Others stop bacteria from making the proteins they need to grow and multiply. Because human cells are built differently, these drugs usually do not harm our own healthy cells.

Medical Applications

Doctors prescribe antibiotics to treat a wide range of bacterial infections. Common conditions treated include:

• Pneumonia: A serious lung infection caused by bacteria.
• Diphtheria: A throat infection that affects breathing.
• Plague: A dangerous disease transmitted by fleas on rodents.
• Whooping Cough: A highly contagious respiratory disease.

The Rule of Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotics are only effective against bacteria. They do not work against viruses, such as those that cause the common cold or flu. It is very important to use antibiotics only when a doctor says so. If we use them too much, bacteria can learn how to survive the medicine. This is called antibiotic resistance, which makes the bacteria much harder to kill in the future.