Topic Three (1.3): Antibiotics 1

Objectives

By the end of this topic you should be able to:

describe the use of antibiotics.
describe how Fleming discovered penicillin;

Introduction

In this third topic of the module you will look at what antibiotics are, how the first one was discovered and how the correct antibiotic can be chosen for a difficult infection.

Working through your course book

Medicines are not only used to prevent diseases but also to treat them. Read pages 26–27.

VIEW - Controlling Infectious Disease (slide 22-23) Download VIEW - Controlling Infectious Disease (slide 22-23)

Discovering an antibiotic by accident sounds very lucky but scientists like Alexander Fleming are knowledgeable enough to understand what they have discovered and how they can take discovery that further:

WATCH - Alexander Fleming and the Accidental Mould Juice (YouTube)