Antibiotics
Biology: Cambridge International GCSE Supplement, topic 15.1.1
Antibiotics
Drugs are any substances taken into the body that modify or affect chemical reactions in the body. Antibiotics, such as penicillin, are drugs developed to cure infections caused by bacteria. Some antibiotics work by destroying the cell wall of the bacteria so that they can't replicate.
Antibiotics do not affect viruses
- Antibiotics do not destroy viruses because viruses stay inside host cells and are not living cells.
Antibiotics are specific
- Specific antibiotics are prescribed by medical doctors for specific diseases.
- The use of antibiotics has greatly reduced the number of deaths from infectious bacterial diseases.
Test yourself on Antibiotics
What type of organism causes the infections that antibiotics are designed to cure?
Select the true statement in each pair
Which drug is an antibiotic?