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Resistance to antimicrobial drugs

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Biochemistry of Antimicrobial Action

Abstract

The development of safe effective antimicrobial drugs has revolutionized medicine in the last fifty years. Morbidity and mortality from microbial disease have been drastically reduced by modern chemotherapy. Unfortunately, micro-organisms are nothing if not versatile, and the brilliance of the chemotherapeutic achievement has been somewhat dimmed by the emergence of microbial strains presenting a formidable array of defences against our most valuable drugs. This should not surprise us, since the evolutionary history of living organisms is concerned with their adaptation to the environment. The adaptation of micro-organisms to the toxic hazards of antimicrobial drugs is therefore probably inevitable.

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© 1989 T. J. Franklin and G. A. Snow

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Franklin, T.J., Snow, G.A. (1989). Resistance to antimicrobial drugs. In: Biochemistry of Antimicrobial Action. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0825-3_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0825-3_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-6857-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-0825-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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