Antibiotic Resistance

The development of antibiotics such as penicillin revolutionized treatment of illnesses in the twentieth century. Since then we have created many new types of antibiotics partly due to necessity. Pathogens have adapted to penicillin and become resistant to the drug, rendering it ineffective at treating illnesses for which it was formerly used.

Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem made worse by the widespread misuse of antibiotics to treat viral illnesses such as the cold or flu. Click on the links to the left to learn more about the proper usage of antibiotics and what you can do about the problem of antibiotic resistance.