The survivors

About this video

You have had a cold for four days, and someone says: ask the doctor for antibiotics. Would they help? An antibiotic is a medicine that kills bacteria or stops them growing. In 1928, in London, Alexander Fleming noticed that bacteria had died around a mould on a dish; the mould made a substance he called penicillin. In 1940 and 1941 a team in Oxford led by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain turned it into a medicine, and the three shared a Nobel Prize in 1945.

Antibiotics work on bacteria. They do not work on viruses: colds, flu, and most coughs and sore throats. A cold usually gets better on its own in about 1 to 2 weeks, and taking antibiotics for it doesn't help but can still give side effects.

Bacteria multiply fast, and they are not all the same. When an antibiotic is used, most die, but a few may happen to have something that lets them survive. Those survivors multiply and pass it on. Again and again, in millions of people, more and more bacteria can survive the medicine. That is antibiotic resistance: the bacteria change, not your body. WHO calls it a major threat to global health: in 2023 about 1 in 6 bacterial infections confirmed in laboratories worldwide were resistant to the usual antibiotics, and in 2021 resistant infections directly caused about 1.1 million deaths.

Every use gives resistant bacteria a chance, so antibiotics are worth using only when needed. Take them only when a doctor or other health worker prescribes them for you, and exactly as they say: how much, how often and for how many days. Never share them or save leftovers. For a cold, ask a pharmacist what helps you feel better. This video goes with the lesson Antibiotics and Resistance in Health Level 1 on Knaph.

Transcript

1. 0:00A cold for four days, and someone says, ask for antibiotics. Will they help?
2. 0:08In 1928, Alexander Fleming saw bacteria die around a mould on a dish. Its substance, penicillin, became a medicine in Oxford in the early 1940s.
3. 0:19Antibiotics kill bacteria. They do not work on viruses, like colds and flu. A cold usually gets better on its own in one to two weeks.
4. 0:29Bacteria are not all the same. An antibiotic kills most of them, but a few may happen to survive. They multiply, and pass it on. Again and again, in millions of people. The bacteria change, not your body.
5. 0:46In 2023, about one in six bacterial infections confirmed in laboratories was resistant. In 2021, resistant infections directly caused about 1.1 million deaths.
6. 0:56So take antibiotics only when a health worker prescribes them for you, and exactly as they say. Never share them or keep leftovers. For a cold, ask a pharmacist what helps.
7. 1:09Bacteria, not viruses. Only when needed, exactly as prescribed.