The last antibiotics - the history of antibiotics

Penicillin is the most ground-breaking discovery in the history of medicine, a drug that could cure people of the most dreaded infections. But abuse and overuse allowed many pathogenic bacteria to outwit the miracle drug. Today resistant bacteria are winning the battle against antibiotics as a whole and the development of new medicines has reached almost a standstill. Using archive footage and expert witnesses, this fascinating programme tells the whole sorry tale from start to finish.

The story of antibiotics is that of a classic rise and fall. From penicillin’s accidental discovery in 1928 by Sir Alexander Fleming on a carelessly discarded culture dish, it went on to save a huge number of lives in World War II and to revolutionise the treatment of infection around the world.

But the efficacy of antibiotics led to their overuse until ultimately they were being used for everything from treating colds to being added to medicated face cream. And perhaps the most damaging misuse was their routine addition to farm animal foodstuffs after they were accidentally found to cause rapid animal weight gain.

Gradually through natural selection bacteria became resistant to increasing numbers of antibiotics. The problems we face today from super-bugs such as MRSA are as a direct result of over-prescription and inappropriate use. What makes matters worse is that the drug companies have all but ceased trying to develop alternatives.

It is likely that we are now moving into a post-antibiotic era in public health. Misuse is rife around the world and we are starting to see the emergence of new multi-resistant strains of old killer diseases. Perhaps the most worrying are the antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis spreading through China and the former Soviet republics, and the hospital-acquired infections such as MRSA and VRE.

National curriculum links:           

·          Citizenship KS3: 1i

·          Citizenship KS4: 1f, 1j

·          PSHE KS3: 2b, 2f, 4h

·          PSHE KS4: 2a, 2e, 2g, 4g

·          Science KS3: 1c

·          Science KS4 (breadth of study): 1a, 1c