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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Antibiotics
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1992-09-03
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Antibiotics are substances, produced by
living things, that are poisonous to
harmful bacteria. For a long time it was
thought that any medicine that was able to
kill a particular microbe would also kill the
patient. Then, in the early 19th century,
scientists began to discover drugs that would
kill bacteria but do the patients no harm.
The most important of these drugs was
penicillin, a drug produced by a mould.
Penicillin was a wonder drug that saved and
still is saving many lives. It was especially
useful against pneumonia. The antibiotic
steptomycin has wiped out the disease
tuberculosis. Scientists have found many more
useful antibiotics that can fight diseases
such as whooping cough and typhus.
Antibiotics do not work against viruses,
that cause the common cold, flu, mumps,
measles, AIDS and other more common diseases.
Subject by: Vanessa Pike