History of Antibiotics
from page 52 and 53 of the October 2005 issue of Wired.
The table below shows the timelines for three infectious diseases, the antibiotics that were developed to treat
them, and the eventual evolution of resistant strains that rendered the antibiotics ineffective.
Staphylococcus aureus
S. aureus causes skin infections, toxic shock syndrome, and a host of other staph infections. More than half of
all staph infections found in intensive care units are drug-resistant.
Streptococcus pneumoniae
S. pneumoniae causes a range of illnesses including strep throat, flesh-eating bacteria, and pneumonia that requires
hospitalization.
Escherichia coli
Dangerous forms of E. coli cause GI distress to meningitis. In June 2005, the FDA approved tigecycline, a new type of
antibiotic designed to fight resistant E. coli.
The following are three ways bacteria evolve to become resistant to antibiotics.
Camouflage
A bacteria's protein receptors morph so that the antibiotic cannot lock onto them and kill them. Staph evolved in
this way to resist penicillin.
Roadblocks
The bacteria's cell membrane changes to keep the antibiotic out. Bacteria such as staph and strep evolved in this
way to defeat tetracyclines.
Disarmament
A bacteria produces enzymes that turn off the active part of the antibiotic. Using this method, E. coli resisted
cephalosporins.
| Year |
Staphylococcus aureus |
Streptococcus pneumoniae |
Escherichia coli |
Antibiotic |
1942 |
|
|
|
Penicillin |
1944 |
|
|
|
Streptomycin |
1947 |
Staph resists penicillin |
|
|
Chloramphenical |
1948 |
|
|
|
Tetracycline |
1952 |
|
|
|
Erythromycin |
1955 |
|
|
|
Lincomycin |
1959 |
|
|
E. coli resists chloramphenicol,
tetracycline, and
streptomycin |
|
1960 |
|
|
|
Methicillin |
1961 |
Staph resists methicillin |
|
|
Ampicilin |
1963 |
|
Strep resists tetracycline and
lincomycin |
|
|
1964 |
|
|
|
Cephalosporin and
Vancomycin |
1965 |
|
Strep resists penicillin |
|
|
1970 |
|
Strep resists chloramphenicol |
|
|
1977 |
|
|
|
Trimethoprim-
sulfametho-
xazole |
1978 |
|
Strep resists cephalosporin |
|
|
1986 |
|
|
E. coli resists ampicillin |
Fluoroquinolone |
1987 |
|
|
E. coli resists trimethoprim-
sulfametho-
xazole |
Ciprofloxacin |
1988 |
|
Strep resists erythromycin |
|
|
1994 |
|
|
E. coli resists fluoroqui-
nolone |
|
1996 |
|
|
|
Levofloxacin |
1997 |
Staph resists vancomycin |
|
|
|
1999 |
|
Strep resists ciprofloxacin |
E. coli resists cephalosporin |
|
2000 |
|
|
|
Linezolid |
2001 |
Staph resists linezolid |
|
|
|
2002 |
|
Strep resists levofloxacin |
E. coli resists ciprofloxacin |
|
2005 |
|
|
|
Tigecycline |