Document-Based Questions - Debra J. Housel, M.S. Ed. 2008
Antibiotics
Amazing Discoveries
Perhaps the most important medical discovery ever happened by chance. In September 1928, a mold spore flew into the open window of a London hospital. It landed in a culture dish of bacteria. Alexander Fleming was growing the bacteria for study. But he was out of town. When he came back, he saw the fuzzy green mold. It had spread all over the dish. And it looked like it had dissolved the bacteria!
In World War I soldiers dying from infected wounds had upset Fleming. He wanted to find a way to kill bacteria. And he had just found it! He had discovered penicillin. However, many years passed before it was used to fight disease. To find out if it was toxic, Fleming tested it on white mice and rabbits first. When they did well, he decided to try it on a person. He asked his helper, Stuart Cardiac. The man agreed to take the risk. He ate some of the mold. He had no bad side effects.
Penicillin works because germs are alive. It is an antibiotic. This word means “against life.” But it’s only against germ life. How does it work? Penicillin breaks open the germ cell wall. This lets the cell matter flow out. It kills the cell.
Two other researchers, Dr. Ernst Chain and Professor Howard Florey, were excited by Fleming’s research. They refined the drug for use in humans. Then World War II broke out. Once again thousands of troops were dying from infected wounds. But Great Britain did not act. So Chain and Florey went to America. The doctors there were impressed with penicillin’s power. They made it for use with the military. As a result, by the end of the war 95 percent of Allied troops with infected wounds got better.
The miracle drug was just for the troops. People outside of the armed forces could not have it. In 1943, a two-year-old girl lay dying. She had blood poisoning. The doctors told her father there was nothing they could do. Her father went to a New York City newspaper editor. He begged the man to get the medicine. The editor called the U.S. Surgeon General. He got the doctor to approve giving the drug to a civilian. So the girl’s doctor drove hundreds of miles with a police escort. He picked up the penicillin. When he came back, he thought he was too late. She looked like she had only about an hour and a half left to live. He gave her the dose. To his shock, she immediately improved! She made a full recovery.
The newspaper told her story. When people read it, they wanted the drug available to anyone who needed it. The next year 500,000 people were treated with this lifesaver. Now penicillin is routinely used. It cures strep throat, pneumonia, and other sicknesses.
Antibiotics
No Antibiotics Please
CDC advises parents about colds, flu and antibiotics
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has news for parents this cold and flu season: Antibiotics don’t work for a cold or the flu.
Antibiotics kill bacteria, not viruses. And colds, flu, and most sore throats are caused by viruses. Antibiotics don’t touch viruses — never have, never will. It’s a well-known medical fact. But tell that to parents seeking relief for a child’s cold. Recent research shows that most Americans have either missed the message about correct antibiotic use or they simply don’t believe it.
According to recent public opinion research, there is a perception that “antibiotics cure everything.” Americans believe in the power of antibiotics so much that many patients go to the doctor expecting to get a prescription. And they do. Why? Physicians often are too pressured for time to give lengthy explanations of why antibiotics won’t work. And, when the diagnosis is uncertain — as many symptoms for viral and bacterial infections are similar — doctors are more likely to yield to patient demands for antibiotics. The problem is, taking antibiotics when they are not needed can do more harm than good.
Widespread misuse of antibiotics is causing an increase in drug-resistant bacteria. This means that current antibiotics no longer kill these germs. Over the last ten years, almost every type of bacteria has become stronger and less responsive to antibiotic treatment when it really is needed. These antibiotic-resistant bacteria can quickly spread to family members, school mates and co-workers — threatening the community with a new strain of infectious disease that is more difficult to cure.
According to the CDC, antibiotic resistance is one of the world’s most pressing public health problems.
Americans of all ages can lower this risk by talking to their doctors and using antibiotics correctly during this cold and flu season.
Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work Press Kit.”
http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/community/files/complete_abr_vpk.hm
Antibiotics
1. Alexander Fleming was doing research in order to find
a. a cure for infected wounds.
b. penicillin.
c. the bacteria that caused infected wounds.
d. a fungus that could be used as a medicine.
2. Which nation was the first to recognize the importance of penicillin?
a. China
b. Scotland
c. Great Britain
d. the United States
3. Penicillin can fight
a. only viruses.
b. only bacteria.
c. viruses or bacteria.
d. viruses, bacteria, and fungi.
4. After the military let penicillin be used by one civilian, it was soon available to other civilians. True or False? Explain.
5. According to the newspaper article, what is the danger of using antibiotics when they are not needed?
6. Should doctors always do tests to make sure that antibiotics are needed before giving them to people? Why or why not?