Antibiotics: What Everyone Needs to KnowVirtually everyone has taken antibiotics. They can be lifesavers -- and they can be useless. What are they? How are they used? And what happens as the effectiveness of antibiotics continues to decline? Antibiotics: What Everyone Needs to Know(R) examines the personal and societal implications of our planet's most important -- and frequently misused -- medications. In a question-and-answer format, it unpacks the most complicated aspects of this issue, including: How antibiotics are used (and overused) in humans, plants, and livestock; the causes and consequences of bacterial resistance to antibiotics; how the globalized world enables antibiotic resistance to spread quickly; and the difficult decisions ahead for both medical care and the food system. Grounded in the latest scientific research and crafted for general readers, Antibiotics: What Everyone Needs to Know(R) offers a clear-eyed overview of where we are, and what the future holds, as antibiotics lose their power. |
Contents
1 ORIGIN AND FUNCTION | 1 |
2 USE IN HUMANS | 43 |
ADVERSE EVENTS ASSOCIATED WITH USE OF ANTIBIOTICS IN HUMANS | 101 |
4 OTHER USES OF ANTIBIOTICS NONHUMAN USE | 149 |
5 ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE | 181 |
6 CONSEQUENCES OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE | 247 |