Antibacterial Drugs; Widely Used In Treatment and Prevention of Infectious Diseases

 

Antibacterial drugs are widely used to treat and prevent infectious diseases and are classified into seven major classes based on their molecular structure, such as sulfonamides, macrolides, quinolones, phenicols, tetracyclines, β-Lactams, and aminoglycosides. Antibacterial drugs play an important role in the healthcare industry, as they act by inhibiting or destroying microbial growth. Worldwide, these drugs are used to treat infection caused by various bacteria, such as Klebsiella pneumonia, E. coli, and others.

Thus, with the increasing prevalence of infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, typhoid, leprosy, and hepatitis B, across the globe, the demand for antibacterial drugs is also increasing with a rapid pace. For example, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2021, more than 7,860 TB (tuberculosis) cases reported in the United States (at the rate of 2.4 per 100,000 persons). More than 13 million people in the United States are living with latent TB infection.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several antibacterial agents, such as rifamycin, omadacycline, sarecycline, eravacycline, and Plazomicin in 2018 and cefiderocol, lefamulin, imipenem, pretomanid, and cilastatin and relebactam combination in 2019. In the U.S., the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) prioritizes disease prevention, vaccine coverage expansion and consolidation, access to treatment, an end to communicable disease epidemics, and, ultimately, disease elimination.

Antibacterial Drugs work by blocking vital processes in bacteria, killing the bacteria or stopping them from multiplying. This in turn helps body's natural immune system to fight the bacterial infection. These drugs work by killing or inhibiting the growth of bacterial infection, while the body's natural defenses work in concert to eliminate the infection. They are not effective against viral infections, such as the common cold or flu. Antibiotics should be used only if clinical or laboratory evidence suggests bacterial infection.