What are antibiotics?

Solution

  Antibiotics are the drugs prepared from moulds and mould like organisms. • Antibiotics are the medicines which fight against the bacteria in our body. • Antibiotics either kill the bacteria or inhibit their multiplication or reproduction. • Some antibiotics are effective against protozoa also, but they are ineffective to viral infections. • Antibiotics are naturally obtained from bacteria or fungi (moulds are a type of fungi) or can be synthesized in labs. • Penicillin was the first antibiotic discovered by Alexnder Fleming in 1928, obtained from Penicillium Notatum (a type of fungus). But the use of antibiotics is subject to medical prescriptions, unnecessary, excess or incomplete dosage of antibiotics can cause complications. • Careless intake of antibiotics can make the body or bacteria antibiotic-resistant, and the antibiotics are no longer able to cure the infection. • Development of Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis (MDR TB) and Extensively drug- resistant TB (XDR TB) are an example of antibiotic resistance