Basic principles in antibiotic therapy

Abstract

In 1877, Louis Pasteur studied the phenomenon of antibiosis, that is, the disharmonious interspecific relationship; however, only years later, the first antibiotic substance was developed, in 1929, by Alexander Fleming, which consisted of a yeast-like colony that reproduced in the vicinity of a petri tree. The antimicrobial spectrum can express the range of action of the drug, that is, it expresses the percentage of bacterial groups sensitive to the drug. The resistance of microorganisms represents a phenomenon of their evolutionary adaptation, which can be natural or acquired. The increase in the number of resistant bacteria may be linked to the mechanism of "induced selection", i.e., antibiotics lyse sensitive organisms, leaving resistant ones unharmed; or through dissemination, which happens through ingestion and/or contact with foods composed of antimicrobials.

DOI:https://doi.org/10.56238/sevened2024.007-022