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Destroying A Miracle
Why we are coming close to losing the benefits of antibiotics
Nearly a century ago, in 1928, Dr Alexander Fleming made a fortuitous discovery: glancing at one of the petri dishes in which he’d left a strain of bacteria prior to his earlier departure on a vacation, he saw that quite unexpectedly a mold was sitting in the center and appeared to be preventing the growth of bacteria around it. He investigated the phenomenon and found that the mold produced a chemical that could kill bacteria.
The world’s first scientifically identified antibiotic had been discovered: penicillin.
It is difficult to over-state the impact of this discovery and subsequent commercialization. In the years that followed, a wide variety of other anti-bacterial agents were discovered and almost overnight many previously debilitating and fatal diseases became treatable. No longer would people fear death from tetanus; no longer would leprosy be just another disease to be managed as best as possible. Cholera could be defeated and typhoid didn’t have to be a death sentence. Combined with improved sanitation, the development of antibiotics is largely responsible for the astonishing increase in average lifespan we’ve enjoyed over the last 150 years.
