Insights \ Health Hits

Although bacteria were observed in the 17th century, it took scientists until the early 20th century to discover naturally occurring antibiotics that fight bacteria.

British scientist Alexander Fleming discovered the first antibiotic by accident in 1928. Fleming noticed mold growing on one of his staphylococcus culture plates was preventing the bacteria from growing. He called the mold penicillin.

It took much of the next decade to work out how to use penicillin, but by 1940 scientists reported success in treating mice with streptococcus using the antibiotic.

By 1943, medics were using penicillin to treat soldiers wounded in World War II.

That same year, Selman Waksman, a Russian-born microbiologist at Rutgers University, isolated another antibiotic, streptomycin, which was the first effective treatment for tuberculosis. He coined the term "antibiotic."

Today, more than 150 million antibiotic prescriptions are written each year in the United States.