Respiratory & Infectious Diseases Codexery

Antimicrobial

Agents that kill or inhibit microorganisms to treat or prevent infection.

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An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms or stops their growth.[1] The main classes include disinfectants, antiseptics, and antibiotics.[2] Based on their target microorganisms, antimicrobial medicines can be categorized; for instance, antibiotics are employed against bacteria while antifungals target fungi.[1][3]

Quick Facts

Field
Microbiology and Medicine
Known for
Killing or inhibiting microorganisms to treat and prevent infections

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

Alexander Fleming discovered the antimicrobial fungus Penicillium rubens in 1928.[4] Since 1980, the introduction of new antimicrobial agents has declined, while antimicrobial resistance has increased.[5] For at least two millennia, people have routinely used antimicrobial substances.[6] Infections were treated by the ancient Egyptians and Greeks through the application of particular molds and botanical extracts.[6]

Joseph Lister, drawing on Pasteur's findings, started using antiseptic methods during surgeries, such as sterilizing instruments and cleaning wounds.[4] Following the adoption of these antiseptic measures, there was a substantial drop in surgical infections and related fatalities.[4] In 1942, the purification and extraction of penicillin for medical application was accomplished by Howard Florey, Ernst Chain, and Edward Abraham.[7] The therapeutic use of sulfonamide drugs in 1936 marked the start of the antibiotic era, which was then followed by a "golden" discovery phase lasting from roughly 1945 to 1970.[5]

A total of 1.27 million deaths worldwide in 2019 were directly attributable to bacterial antimicrobial resistance.[2]

What the research sources say

A microbiology researcher at the University of Southampton has studied copper's antimicrobial effects for over two decades.[8] The EPA has registered about 400 copper surfaces as antimicrobial.[8] The Basicmedical Key account states that only three aldehyde compounds are of widespread practical use as disinfectant biocides.[9] According to the WHO, antimicrobial resistance is defined as the failure of microbes to respond to antimicrobial medicines.[10]

The development of drug-resistant pathogens is being fueled by the inappropriate and excessive use of antimicrobials, as noted by the WHO.[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Antimicrobial" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Antimicrobial", Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Antimicrobial" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Antimicrobial Porous Media Microbicidal Technology Porex Barrier Technology", www.porex.com; "Antimicrobial resistance", who.int, 21 November 2023; "Antimicrobial resistance", who.int, 21 November 2023 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Antimicrobial" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Leekha, "General Principles of Antimicrobial Therapy", Mayo Clinic Proceedings, February 2011, p. 156–167 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Antimicrobial" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ullmann, "Louis Pasteur Biography, Inventions, Achievements, & Facts", Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Dec 2019 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Antimicrobial" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The antibiotic resistance crisis: part 1: causes and threats", P & T, April 2015, p. 277–83; "Multidrug resistance: an emerging crisis", Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases, Jul 16, 2014 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Antimicrobial" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Moulds in ancient and more recent medicine", Mycologist, 1989, p. 21–23 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Antimicrobial" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "On the Antibacterial Action of Cultures of a Penicillium, with Special Reference to their use in the Isolation of B. influenzae", The British Journal of Experimental Pathology, 1929, p. 226–236; "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1945", The Nobel Prize Organization (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Morrison, "Copper's Virus-Killing Powers Were Known Even to the Ancients", 14 April 2020. facts only, no text reused. smithsonianmag.com
  9. "Aldehydes", Basicmedical Key, 9 May 2021. facts only, no text reused. basicmedicalkey.com
  10. "Antimicrobial resistance", who.int, 21 November 2023. facts only, no text reused. who.int

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Antimicrobial (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Respiratory & Infectious Diseases

AntifungalAntiparasiticAlbendazoleAmoxicillinAmpicillinAzithromycinCefalexinCefazolinCephalosporinChloroquineArtemisininAciclovir

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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