Cited by 1,628Antibiotic Use and ResistanceAntibiotic Resistance in BacteriaHistorical Medical Research and Treatments

A brief history of the antibiotic era: lessons learned and challenges for the future

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Aminov, Rustam I.·2010·Frontiers in Microbiology

Abstract

This article gives a very brief overview of the antibiotic era, beginning from the discovery of first antibiotics until the present day situation, which is marred by the emergence of hard-to-treat multiple antibiotic-resistant infections. The ways of responding to the antibiotic resistance challenges such as the development of novel strategies in the search for new antimicrobials, designing more effective preventive measures and, importantly, better understanding the ecology of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance are discussed. The expansion of conceptual frameworks based on recent developments in the field of antimicrobials, antibiotic resistance, and chemotherapy is also discussed.

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  • If unchecked, AMR could cause 10 million deaths annually by 2050, eclipsing mortality from cancer and cardiovascular disease.

    “According to recent projections, if unchecked, AMR could cause 10 million deaths annually by 2050, eclipsing mortality from cancer and cardiovascular disease [14-16].”

    From The penicillin revolution and the role of the forgotten pioneer Vincenzo Tiberio (1869-1915): discovery, development and legacy. (2025) · cites this paper as [16]

    The Antibiotic Resistance section reports annual deaths from resistant infections in the EU and hospital-acquired bacterial infections in the United States. Searches for the 10-million-by-2050 projection and the cancer and cardiovascular-disease comparison found no passage addressing either claim in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.75)

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Authors
Aminov, R. I.
Affiliations
University of Aberdeen (GB)
Corresponding author
Aminov, Rustam I.
Venue
Frontiers in Microbiology
Published
2010
Volume
1
Pages
134-134
ISSN
1664-302X (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2146401071
Cited by
1,628
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 89 · 2025: 131 · 2024: 174 · 2023: 192 · 2022: 169 · 2021: 186 · 2020: 158 · 2019: 155 · 2018: 110 · 2017: 87 · 2016: 83 · 2015: 36 · 2014: 24 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 10
FWCI
14.79
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Frontiers in Microbiology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Scottish Government
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology › Antibiotic Use and Resistance
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Medicine › Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Historical Medical Research and Treatments
Keywords
antibiotic era, history of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance, multidrug-resistant infections, antimicrobial drug development, antibiotic stewardship, chemotherapy

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