The Microbes Fight Back: Antibiotic Resistance [Paperback]

Although scientists continue to play a crucial role in the continuing battle against antibiotic resistance, a return to a pre-antibiotic era is a distinct possibility. This book draws much-needed attention to current levels of antibiotic resistance and the lack of new antibiotic drugs coming to market. The fascinating history of antibiotic discovery, how antibiotics are made now, and how bacteria manage to mutate and develop resistance to our medicines are explained in terms non-specialists can follow. The book also describes the alarming ease with which antibiotic resistance spreads within bacterial communities. How have human activities contributed to antibiotic resistance? What will a future where resistance continues to increase look like and how will we cope with the superbugs? Laura Bowater engages readers with these questions, raising awareness of an important global challenge for humanity.

Antibiotics are familiar drugs to us all, so familiar that we may take them for granted. They allow us to survive life-threatening infections, and allow us to protect the animals we farm for food. Many antibiotics have now become ineffective against common diseases, and there are few alternative treatments to replace them. In this topical popular science book, Laura Bowater, Professor of Microbiology Education and Engagement at Norwich Medical School, considers the past, present and uncertain future of antibiotics.

This book begins by looking back at how infectious diseases, such as smallpox and the plague, were able to wreak havoc on populations before the discovery of the first antibiotics. These then revolutionised the medical world. In an engaging and accessible style, Professor Bowater takes the reader through how antibiotics are made, how bacteria are able to mutate and develop resistance and she explains why there is now a lack of new antibiotic drugs coming to market.

What will a future of continued antibiotic resistance look like? How can human actló0