Changes

Gonorrhea, for example, was once regarded as easily curable with penicillin. In the 1980s, penicillin-resistant strains developed, but gonorrhea was still not considered dangerous; it was still curable, it just required newer antibiotics. The main public health concern was that effective treatment had now become more expensive. In 2007, it emerged as a "superbug" for which a single treatment option is still effective. Thus, although standard references still say "In most cases, the disease can be cured by adequate treatment with a fluoroquinolone or cephalosporin antibiotic,"<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/65/go/gonorrhe.html Gonorrhea], the Columbia Encyclopedia]</ref> the Center for Disease Control now finds that resistance to the fluoroquinolones is so widespread that it no longer recommends them as a treatment for gonorrhea in the United States.<ref>[http://www.rxpgnews.com/infectiousdiseases/Few_Treatment_Options_Remain_for_One_of_Nation_s_Most_Common_STDs_23595.shtml Few Treatment Options Remain for Gonorrhea], RxPG news; [http://www.drkoop.com/newsdetail/93/603672.html http://www.drkoop.com/newsdetail/93/603672.html CDC Recommends New Antibiotics for Gonorrhea], Dr. Koop website</ref>.

Gonorrhea, for example, was once regarded as easily curable with penicillin. In the 1980s, penicillin-resistant strains developed, but gonorrhea was still not considered dangerous; it was still curable, it just required newer antibiotics. The main public health concern was that effective treatment had now become more expensive. In 2007, it emerged as a "superbug" for which a single treatment option is still effective. Thus, although standard references still say "In most cases, the disease can be cured by adequate treatment with a fluoroquinolone or cephalosporin antibiotic,"<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/65/go/gonorrhe.html Gonorrhea], the Columbia Encyclopedia]</ref> the Center for Disease Control now finds that resistance to the fluoroquinolones is so widespread that it no longer recommends them as a treatment for gonorrhea in the United States.<ref>[http://www.rxpgnews.com/infectiousdiseases/Few_Treatment_Options_Remain_for_One_of_Nation_s_Most_Common_STDs_23595.shtml Few Treatment Options Remain for Gonorrhea], RxPG news; [http://www.drkoop.com/newsdetail/93/603672.html http://www.drkoop.com/newsdetail/93/603672.html CDC Recommends New Antibiotics for Gonorrhea], Dr. Koop website</ref>.

There is controversy over the best policies to keep drug-resistant strains in check. In the 1940s the medical profession began lobbying to make antibiotics available only through prescription to prevent overuse, and educating doctors to be prudent in prescribing them. However, antibiotics are widely added to livestock feed to prevent infection and promote growth, and critics charge that the practice has encouraged the emergence of resistant strains, a charge which the agribusiness industry and the USDA deny.

There is controversy over the best policies to keep drug-resistant strains in check. In the 1940s the medical profession began lobbying to make antibiotics available only through prescription to prevent overuse, and educating doctors to be prudent in prescribing them. However, antibiotics are widely added to livestock feed to prevent infection and promote growth, and critics charge that the practice has encouraged the emergence of resistant strains, a charge which the agriculture industry and the USDA deny.

    

    

The mechanism by which drug resistance emerges was studied by Luria and Delbrück in 1943 and by Lederburg and Lederburg in 1952. Further work established that streptomycin resistance emerges as the result of point mutations, at a rate of about one per billion cells, while isoniazid resistance has a mutation rate of one per million.  

The mechanism by which drug resistance emerges was studied by Luria and Delbrück in 1943 and by Lederburg and Lederburg in 1952. Further work established that streptomycin resistance emerges as the result of point mutations, at a rate of about one per billion cells, while isoniazid resistance has a mutation rate of one per million.