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Antimicrobial Agents
Bacterial infections are caused by bacteria and viral infections are caused by viruses and though the symptoms of these infections may seem similar, the causes are different—which means that treating them will also require unique methods. The categories of antimicrobial agents include antibacterial drugs, antifungal drugs, antiviral agents and antiparasitic drugs. A common antibacterial drug is Zithromax which will stop the pathogenesis of the bacteria. A common antiviral drug is Tamiflu, which will stop the pathogenesis of the virus. These two types are most commonly used by patients who are looking to address an infection.
But what makes viral and bacterial infections different aside from the agents causing the infection? As Steckleberg (2017) notes, bacteria are single-celled microorganisms that live in the body—some are good but others are bad. Viruses are even smaller than bacteria: they are like hostile takeover agents because they actually invade cells and cause the cell to reproduce more of the virus by using the mechanics of the cell. It is like a computer virus, taking over the computer to do things for the virus rather than for the user of the computer—which is why it is called a computer virus; it acts just like a virus attacking cells in the body. Some common forms of bacteria infection are strep throat, TB, and UTI. Some common forms of viral infection are chickenpox, flu, and AIDS. However,...
Antiobotics can be misapplied and cause more damage to the person’s health in the long term than if the person had received proper care and obtained the right treatment for the infection that the individual was suffering from.
The proper microbial agent to treat an infection will be based on the type of infection that the individual has. Blood test, urine test, or physical exam such as listening to breathing in the lungs, and examining the throat to see what has formed in the back near the tonsils can all help to determine what is going on in the body and make an informed, educated decision about the type of infection. Obtaining the patient’s history is also important in making this decision.
As Suarez, Bunsow, Falsey, Walsh, Mejias and Ramilo (2015) point out, identifying the precise cause of the infection is critical especially in a hospital setting because patients need to receive optimal quality care and if the infection is not treated properly it can quickly lead to compounding of problems for the patient. Since the patient is already in the hospital for something else,…
References
Pannek, J., Kurmann, C., Imbach, E., Amsler, F., & Pannek-Rademacher, S. (2018). In Vitro Effects of Homeopathic Drugs on Cultured Escherichia coli. Homeopathy, 107(02), 150-154.
Steckelberg, J. (2017). Bacterial vs. viral infection. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/infectious-diseases/expert-answers/infectious-disease/faq-20058098
Suarez, N. M., Bunsow, E., Falsey, A. R., Walsh, E. E., Mejias, A., & Ramilo, O. (2015). Superiority of transcriptional profiling over procalcitonin for distinguishing bacterial from viral lower respiratory tract infections in hospitalized adults. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 212(2), 213-222.
Antimicrobial Agents in Household Use: Triclosan Describe how Triclosan works on a molecular level. Explain how Triclosan differs from soap and bleach in its antimicrobial activity. Triclosan blocks the active site of the enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductase enzyme (ENR), this is the vital enzyme in the synthesis of fatty acid in bacteria (Levy et a, 1999). Blocking this active site by triclosan leads to the inhibition of the enzyme thus preventing the
Introduction: Antimicrobial Agents Although they are often over-prescribed, antimicrobial agents are a critical defense against microbial infections. The sources of microbial infections include bacteria, viruses, funguses, and parasites. Therefore, the key categories of antimicrobial pharmaceutical agents are antibiotics, antifungals, antiprotozoal, and antiviral drugs. Sometimes the terms antibiotic, antimicrobial, and anti-infective are used interchangeably, but it is crucial to differentiate between the type of infection in order to choose the appropriate antimicrobial
Categories of Antimicrobial Agents Antimicrobial agents refer to a broad classification of molecules that either kill or suppress the growth or multiplication of bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa, and helmiths (Greenwood & Irving, 2012; Musumeci & Puglisi, 2013). According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2016), antimicrobials can be classified in various ways such as which microorganisms they target (such as antibacterial versus antiviral agents), their mechanisms or methods of intervention (such
Efficiency of Antibiotic Resistance Gene Transfer Mechanisms Upon Exposure to Triclosan Triclosan has become the latest buzz word in the grocery store. It is being hailed as the ultimate biocide and finds its way into many everyday products such as toothpaste and hand soap. Mass media produced a great amount of hype and convinced the general public that this was necessary to protect them from potentially harmful or even fatal bacteria.
Psuedomonas Aeruginosa Pseudomonas aeruginosa Epidemiology The Gram-negative, motile, rod-shaped bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic killer that takes advantage of people suffering from medical problems (Van Delden and Iglewski, 1998).For this reason, P. aeruginosa is one of the most common nosocomial infection that occurs in hospitals. P. aeruginosa is responsible for causing 16% of pneumonia cases, 12% of urinary tract infections, 10% of bloodstream infections, and 8% of surgical infections due to hospital
Phytochemistry: Research on Isolation, Identification, and Purification of New Antimicrobial Compounds from Common and Available Herbs in the Mediterranean Area and in the UK Since ancient times the healing powers of plants has been sought and plant derived substances "have recently become of great interest owing to their versatile applications." (Das, Tiwari, and Shrivastava, 2010, p.104) Medicinal plants have been used historically as remedies for human diseases and as such "offer