Microbes -
antibiotic factories

1928 - the discovery of the first antibiotic - penicillin

Alexander Fleming studied the causative agents of many diseases, streaking them onto nutrient media. After returning from holidays in 1928, he noticed that mold had accidentally grown in one dish with nutrient media and bacteria. In the narrow area around the mold, the inhibition zone, the cultured bacteria did not grow. Fleming later concluded that this was due to the activity of the substance formed and secreted by the mold into the nutrient media. Mold produces antibiotics to protect itself against other microbes, and people use them for treatment of diseases caused by pathogenic microbes. The antibiotic which was discovered and described by Fleming was subsequently named penicillin.

Fleming says in his memoirs: "When I got up at dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionize medicine with the discovery of the world's first antibiotic. But it seems I did precisely that.”

Find out more about Fleming's life!

1942 - the first patient successfully treated for septicemia with antibiotics

Before antibiotics were discovered, people often died from diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria. Today, thanks to antibiotics, these diseases are curable. Less than a hundred years ago, women were still often dying of miscarriage and its consequences like septicemia - the penetration of pathogenic microbes into the blood. Anne Shefae Miller is the first woman to be saved from certain death due to infection after a miscarriage in 1942. She received a dose of 5.5 grams of penicillin.

1943 - massive treatment of tuberculosis with antibiotics

Tuberculosis is a serious infectious disease, in humans caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This disease is still a cause of high mortality in less developed countries, where antibiotics are not available to everyone. It was widespread during World War II, and the first real effective medicine was discovered in 1943 in the United States. It was an antibiotic - streptomycin.

The same year, the famous British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had a severe form of bacterial pneumonia but was saved thanks to antibiotics.

Find out more about how Alexander Fleming saved Winston Churchill's life!

1945 - the Nobel Prize awarded for the discovery of antibiotics and their effects in the treatment of many infectious diseases

Howard Florey and Ernst Chain are the scientists responsible for developing production methods that have made penicillin widely available. They shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine with Alexander Fleming.

Find out more about the history of penicillin!
Source - author: youtube.com - Videolingual

1949 - the discovery of erythromycin

Penicillin has brought a lot of good to humanity by making it possible to cure some of the diseases that previously meant certain death. Unfortunately, many people are allergic to penicillin. This means that their immune system recognizes penicillin molecules as a threat, leading to an excessive and harmful reaction to the medicine. Fortunately, other antibiotics have been discovered over time. For instance, in 1949, erythromycin was discovered, an antibiotic suitable for people allergic to penicillin.

1957 - the beginning of the synthetic production of antibiotics

Antibiotics are formed by microbes to defend themselves against other related and unrelated species. When people started using antibiotics for medical purposes, they were obtained directly from microbial cultures. Therefore, to produce more antibiotics, it was necessary to grow a large quantity of microbes in liquid nutrient media.

In 1957, American scientist John C. Sheehan managed to circumvent the use of live microbes in the antibiotic production process, that is, he managed to synthesize penicillin chemically. Because of this discovery, the antibiotics became cheaper and more affordable.

1985 - Sweden passed a law restricting the use of antibiotics in animal farming

Over time, antibiotics have become increasingly used, and not always for therapeutic purposes. For example, antibiotics have been used extensively in animal farming. Namely, it has been noted that healthy animals, fed with food in which certain antibiotics have been added, grow faster and are more productive. This is because such animals are more resistant to disease, their body does not have to fight against the potential pathogens, so all energy from food is expended on the growth and productivity of the animal.

Unfortunately, the effectiveness of many of the once-successful antibiotics has slowly decreased due to overuse and the related onset of bacterial resistance. That is why in 1985, a law that restricts the use of antibiotics in animal farming was passed. Under that law, which was the first of that kind in the world, antibiotics should only be used to treat sick animals and not to increase production efficiency.

1997 - the World Health Organization warned of the problem of antibiotic overuse

The World Health Organization (WHO) held a conference in 1997 on antibiotic overuse in agriculture. The addition of antibiotics to the food of healthy animals to improve growth was increasingly common, but it had negative consequences - an increase in the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It became clear that people were misusing the greatest discovery of the twentieth century.

2006 - the European Union pays attention to the overuse of antibiotics

Following the guidelines of the World Health Organization, the European Union law prohibits the use of antibiotics on farms to improve animal growth. Of course, the use of antibiotics to treat sick animals is still allowed.

2050 - infections caused by resistant bacteria will be the leading cause of death worldwide

Unfortunately, scientists are not optimistic about the outcome of the further fight between antibiotics and superbugs. Today, the leading causes of mortality in the world are diseases affecting the heart and blood vessels, but it is believed that by 2050, infections caused by resistant bacteria will take the first place.