ANTIBIOTICS – “LIVING ORGANISM”
Over the past 45 years, antibiotics have entirely altered the picture of infectious disease.
To be scientifically correct, the term “antibiotic” should be reserved for those drugs obtained from a living organism, such as a fungus or mould.
Those other drugs which act in the same way but which are synthesised in the laboratory, are usually spoken of as chemotherapeutic drugs.
However, those infectious diseases which are due to viruses are not influenced by antibiotics, except for a few caused by the larger viruses and a few organisms which appear to be halfway between viruses and bacteria.
The sulphonamide drugs were the first of these new tools of medicine. Their action was first reported by the Bayer company in Germany in 1935.
Although the sulphonamides are active against a wide range of bacteria, their main use now is in urinary tract infections. A new generation of doctors has grown up with so many other antibiotics available that the sulphonamides are rarely thought of when prescribing treatment.
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