- Allergy treatment
- Antimicrobials for systemic use
- Antiparasitic drugs
- Cardiovascular system
- Dermatology
- Drugs affecting metabolism
- Drugs used in sensory organ disorders
- Gastrointestinal tract
- Haemopoietic system and blood
- Locomotor system
- Nervous system
- Respiratory system
- Systemic hormones
- Urogenital system and Sexual hormones
Antimicrobials for systemic use
- Antimicrobials overview
- Antimicrobials application and classification
Antimicrobials are substances that kill (microbicidal action) or inhibit the growth and replication (microbistatic action) of certain microorganisms including protozoans, fungi and bacteria. Disinfectants are antimicrobials which are applied on non-living objects to destroy microorganisms that are living on these objects.
The history of antimicrobials substances starts in 19th century when Louis Pasteur found that one type of microorganisms can prevent the growth of another. He observed that an airbone bacillus can inhibit the growth Bacillus anthracis. However, he could not exactly explain this phenomenon. Later it was found that certain microbes produce chemicals which kill or inhibit the growth of other microorganisms. These chemicals were renamed antibiotics by Selman Waksman, an American microbiologist in 1942.
The discovery of penicillin in 1928 by Alexander Fleming opened a new chapter in the treatment of infectious disease. This discovery helped to save millions of lives all over the world. Before the first antibiotic Penicillin became available for medication use, there was not cure for infectious disease like pneumonia, gonorrhea, gangrene. In most cases doctors had recourse to amputation of infected limbs. Now due to antibiotics most of the infectious diseases can be successfully treated.
Currently infectionists all over the world face a new problem as resistance to antibiotics in a number of microorganisms has developed. Bacteria found in hospitals appear to be especially hard to kill due to a broad-spectrum of developed resistances. This problem is being solved by the creation of new antibiotics. Unfortunately, the resistance develops more quickly than new antibiotic appear. That is why, the medical science is focusing on finding the way to overcome drug resistance or finding another way to treat bacterial infection using alternative means.
Antimicrobials include not only antibiotics which are used to treat bacterial infection, but also antiviral agents, antifungals or antimycotics.
