The Triumph Of Fleming 's Discovery Of Penicillin Essay

Everyone knows how useful penicillin is today in the modern age as an antibiotic. Some people might even know about the story behind its discovery. What they don’t know about is the long history behind this medical discovery. They especially don’t know about the hard work of several scientists who brought the idea of penicillin to life. From the earliest discovery of penicillin in 1896 by Ernest Duchesne to the start of its mass production in 1948 and now the modern world of the twenty-first century, it has come a long way. In fact, penicillin has risen from just a bit of Penicillium mold and a mistaken discovery to the life-saving antibiotic agent it is today.

Antibiotics, composed of microorganisms such as streptomycin and penicillin, kill other infectious microorganisms in the human body. At one point, antibiotics were considered to have “basically wiped out infection in the United States”, but due to their overuse and evolutionary

The wonderful discovery of Penicillin, a medicine that was discovered in 1928. This medicine was used to cure bacteria in humans. Penicillin had good results not only in the 1928, as it also still is very successful today. Penicillin had a big impact, it cured many people in the U.S. during World War II. penicillin,leads to the development of others antibiotics.

Antibiotics are inarguably one of the greatest advances in medical science of the past century. Although the first natural antibiotic Penicillin was not discovered until 1928 by Scottish biologist Alexander Flemming, evidence exists that certain plant and mold growths were used to treat infections in ancient Egypt, ancient India, and classical Greece (Forrest, 1982). In our modern world with the advent of synthetic chemistry synthetic antibiotics like Erithromycin and its derivative Azithromycin have been developed. Antibiotics have many uses including the treatment of bacterial and protozoan infection, in surgical operations and prophylactically to prevent the development of an infection. Through these applications, antibiotics have saved countless lives across the world and radically altered the field of medicine. Though a wonderful and potentially lifesaving tool, antibiotic use is not without its disadvantages. Mankind has perhaps been too lax in regulation and too liberal in application of antibiotics and growing antibiotic resistance is the price we must now pay. A recent study showed that perhaps 70% of bacterial infections acquired during hospital visits in the United States are resistant to at least one class of antibiotic (Leeb, 2004). Bacteria are not helpless and their genetic capabilities have allowed them to take advantage of society’s overuse of antibiotics, allowing them to develop

While some discoveries occur after years of painstaking research backed by times of frustration and the urge to give up completely, others occur after a mistake in a singular moment. Similar to the finding of X-rays and matchsticks, the discovery of penicillin by Sir Alexander Fleming in 1928 took place due to a complete accident.

A current predicament in the field of science is antibiotic resistance against superbugs.Though fighting against superbugs; which can be defined as a strain of bacteria unable to be killed using multiple antibiotics, is now a large problem, in the past it was not. The evolution of resistance in bacteria due to antibiotic abuse and lack of product development has brought upon us once again the fear of a pre-antibiotic era; one where simple, once easily defeated infections could kill. Already, infectious diseases are the 3rd leading cause of death in the US and the 2nd across the entire world, and drug resistant superbugs send 2 million Americans to hospitals every year; killing 23,000 of those people. And any bacterium can quickly and easily become multidrug resistant, the leading cause of this being antibiotic misuse in both humans and animals.( "Clinical Infectious Diseases." The Epidemic of Antibiotic-Resistant Infections: A Call to Action for the Medical Community from the Infectious Diseases Society of America. UCLA Medical School. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.)

Penicillin is an antibiotic medicine used to treat harmful bacteria and infections inside and outside of your body. Alexander Fleming, a bacteriologist, discovered it in the early 1900s. As stated by Brittany Connors on page 125 of “The Discovery of Penicillin: The True Story”, “Fleming often admitted that he discovered Penicillin by accident, and that all of the work was done by nature.” Although the finding of this cure may have been an accident, it’s use case has helped save many lives and keep many from sickness. There were numerous events that led to the discovery and development of this treatment such as Fleming’s messy laboratory, Florey’s realization of the medical potential of Penicillin, and Moyer’s success in raising the production yield.

In 1928, after the careless mistake of forgetting to clean his dishes, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. The scientific community still celebrates his discovery since it was a major breakthrough in science, especially in the antibiotics and fermentation field. Although his discovery changed various scientific fields and it opened the doors for research in areas not studied or considered relevant before, the actual usefulness of penicillin was truly reached until the large scale production of penicillin was achieved. Before its manufacturing penicillin was considered for researching purposes, but after its manufacturing during World War II, it truly became helpful for humanity because it could finally start performing within its antibiotic spectrum.

Penicillin has saved at least two million lives. The events that led to penicillin becoming a widely used medicine were, the accidental discoveries, the development, and the mass production. The events that led to this miracle medicine are as important as the medicine itself.

In the mid 1900’s, illnesses swept through the city of London and consumed the lives of many unknowing citizens. Any sickness or open wound was susceptible to a fatal infection, which led the body to be taken over by millions of harmful bacteria (Fogel). Thanks to Alexander Fleming’s encounter of penicillin, we no longer have to worry about this. Penicillin serves as a life-saving, bacteria killing drug that is responsible for the lives of millions. Plus, it played a major role in furthering the effectiveness of medicine. Alexander Fleming’s miraculous discovery of penicillin saved a countless amount of lives and was the basis for progressing medicine.

Chigurupati S. (2015) reported that considering the increased incidences of severe opportunistic bacterial infections in immunological deficient patients together with the development of resistance among pathogenic gram positive and gram negative bacteria, there is a great need in finding new compounds that may be effective against antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Since antibiotics, such as penicillin, became widely available in the 1940s, they have been called miracle drugs. They have been able to eliminate bacteria without significantly harming the other cells of the host. Now with each passing year, bacteria that are immune to antibiotics have become more and more common. This turn of events presents us with an alarming problem. Strains of bacteria that are resistant to all prescribed antibiotics are beginning to appear. As a result, diseases such as tuberculosis and penicillin-resistant gonorrhea are reemerging on a worldwide scale (1).

Today we often take for granted just going to the doctor and getting medicine to fix any illness we may have or pain that we are feeling. There hasn’t always been the privileges that we have today, back in the 1800’s and early 1900’s it wasn’t uncommon for people and children to die from just a minor scratch, pinpricks, scarlet fever, or any minor diseases. Hospitals were full of people with infections spiraling out of control, but there wasn’t anything available for them. Our soldiers fighting for our freedom were destined to perish due to gangrene and amputations from battle wounds, the conditions were unsanitary and the simple dose of an antibiotic was unheard of. It is hard for our civilization to appreciate the medical

This was the era of the "miracle drug." Penicillin was an immense accomplishment and saved many lives. It has been known for being one of the greatest advancements in medical history.

Big News! Alexander Fleming has changed so many lives today from his discovery of penicillin. This bacterial scientist is now a hero on how many lives this substance will save. This incident that he claims to be an accident didn’t have an horrific ending. This veteran has made an incredible impact in medical history.