Antibiotics

• Around the 1940's, scientists discovered the first antibiotic (penicillin)
• These days, the use of antibiotics means that most bacterial diseases are treatable.
• Antibiotics kill infective bacteria inside the human body, without harming body cells.
• Several years ago, doctors discovered that certain antibiotics were no longer effective against certain bacteria. This is because antibiotics had been over used.
• The bacteria had evolved so that they were no longer killed by the antibiotics.
• Doctors always use specific antibiotics to treat specific bacteria.
• Antibiotics cannot kill viruses.
• Painkillers treat the symptoms of a disease by relieving pain.
• Medicines such as painkillers do not kill pathogens.
• Viruses line and reproduce inside human cells. Because of this, it is difficult to develop drugs that kill viruses without also damaging the body's tissue.