Thoroughly Modern Microbes

摘要

When penicillin first became available, it was hailed as a miracle drug. In field hospitals during World War II it saved thousands of soldiers' lives; countless more patients were saved after it was sold commercially in the United States starting in 1945. Surgeries grew markedly safer and formerly lethal infections such as Staphylococ-cus transformed into treatable, often minor, medical conditions. Moreover, the side effects of antibiotics-an occasional rash or allergy-appeared to be few and far between. Compared to the vast curative effects, it seemed a small price to pay. Flush with success, researchers quickly identified several other antibiotics, and millions of prescriptions for these drugs were-and still are-written every year.