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What are Antibiotics?

Antibiotics are substances that are made up of living organisms,

usually bacteria or moulds that kill microorganisms or inhibit their

growth.

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Brief History of Antibiotics

• The first antibiotic discovered in 1928 by Sir Alexander Fleming

• It was Penicillin• Reduced the mortality rate

from people suffering from bacterial infections

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What went wrong, how is it that we are still faced with

bacteria that we cannot eliminate?

What went wrong, how is it that we are still faced with bacteria that we

cannot eliminte?Reasons Why Bacteria Become

Antibiotic Resistant

• The overuse of antibiotics due to their effectiveness against bacteria at the moment.

• Used in Soaps, lotions, sprays, even our food chain

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What Went Wrong Contd…

• Breakdown of HealthCare is a major factor

– Use of Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial Agents– Over prescribing of Antibiotics– Cross Contamination– Lack of Crisis Care

What Went Wrong Contd…

• The lifestyles of humans encourage spread of bacteria.

– Crowded cities– International travel

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Course for the Future

The astronomical growth of antibiotic resistant bacteria is a real cause for alarm because we will soon run out of effective antibiotics to combat bacteria. Therefore, we must take immediate action before its to late. We must inhibit the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria, as well as develop new antibiotics like Vfend, and Eraxis (currenlty being developed by Pfhizer) that will help kill antibiotic resistant bacteria.

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More Information Regarding the Topic

How do bacteria become resistant to antibiotics? The most obvious answer is that they become antibiotic resistant by mutating existing genes and acquiring new ones, but how does that work? Let’s take a closer look. Bacteria transfer new genes by conjugation or by conjugative transposons. They also have other mechanisms that help them fight of antibiotics that are listed in the next slide.

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Methods that bacteria use to fight antibiotics:

Enzymatic inactivation of antibioticsThis is when bacteria use enzyme to degrade the chemical makeup of the antibiotic so it becomes harmless to the bacteria.

Antibiotic-expelling pumpsThis is when bacteria make pumps that expel antibiotics from the cell to prevent access to the target sites that would kill the bacteria.

Target site alterationIn order for a antibiotic to effectively inhibit a cellular mechanism, the mechanism must be identifiable. The bacteria changes the target sites that the antibiotic reacts with, making the antibiotic harmless.

Glossary

Conjugation: is when two bacteria join by a tube-like extension called a sex pillus that allows the transfer of DNA from one bacterium to another.

Conjugative transposons: this is when bacteria acquire genes from chromosomal DNA of dead cells.