From antiseptics to antibiotics - and back? (original) (raw)
Related papers
Antimicrobials before antibiotics: war, peace, and disinfectants
Palgrave Communications, 2019
This analysis of antimicrobials before antibiotics uses both biological and historical approaches to examine the origins of contemporary antibiotic resistance in the decades prior to the introduction of penicillin. Genetic studies of resistance elements in contemporary bacterial pathogens point toward the importance of early twentieth century chemotherapies as initial selection pressures shaping the landscape of resistance elements even before microbially-produced antibiotics came onto the scene while historical analysis gives insight into the design of these pressures: specific toxicity in arsenicals, sulphonamides, and disinfectant quaternary ammonium compounds, as well as their industrial-scale production and distribution. Turning from production to application, the specific cases of troop mobilization and poultry farming between 1940 and 1950 in the United States are used to illustrate how profound physical and social disruption, outbreaks of epidemic disease, and mass prophylaxis and antisepsis with synthetic antimicrobial agents came together at scale in this period, generating a highly specific landscape of bacterial flourishing and killing, and setting the stage into which the first antibiotics came. Reframing antimicrobial resistance in a longer historical trajectory lends new insight into both the social origins and biological evolution of the phenomenon.
Crisis point: the rise and fall of penicillin
The Microscope, 2014
The antibiotic era is compromised by medical attitudes that often encourage the development of resistant bacterial strains. We encounter ten researchers who noted the activity of penicillin before Fleming, and discuss revolutionary measures we will need to prevent overwhelming outbreaks of infection.
The End of an Antibiotic Era, 2021
Based on a translation from the Dutch language edition: Het einde van de antibiotica by Rinke van den Brink, # De Geus 2013. All Rights Reserved.
Molecules
The appearance of antibiotic drugs revolutionized the possibilities for treatment of diseases with high mortality such as pneumonia, sepsis, plaque, diphtheria, tetanus, typhoid fever, and tuberculosis. Today fewer than 1% of mortalities in high income countries are caused by diseases caused by bacteria. However, it should be recalled that the antibiotics were introduced in parallel with sanitation including sewerage, piped drinking water, high standard of living and improved understanding of the connection between food and health. Development of salvarsan, sulfonamides, and β-lactams into efficient drugs is described. The effects on life expectancy and life quality of these new drugs are indicated.