NEET BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Prior to the discovery of penicillin, death could occur in what would seem, today, to be very trivial injuries and diseases. It could occur from minor wounds that became infected or from diseases such as Strep Throat, and venereal diseases such as syphilis and gonorrhea were a much more serious issue.

Detailed explanation-2: -Penicillin heralded the dawn of the antibiotic age. Before its introduction there was no effective treatment for infections such as pneumonia, gonorrhea or rheumatic fever. Hospitals were full of people with blood poisoning contracted from a cut or a scratch, and doctors could do little for them but wait and hope.

Detailed explanation-3: -Infectious diseases such as smallpox, cholera, diphtheria, pneumonia, typhoid fever, plaque, tuberculosis, typhus, syphilis, etc. were rampant. The discovery of penicillin in 1928 by Sir Alexander Fleming (1881-1955) marked the beginning of the antibiotic revolution.

Detailed explanation-4: -The researchers estimate that mortality for penicillin-sensitive causes of death fell by 0.3 per thousand following the introduction of penicillin, a 58 percent decline relative to the mean prior to 1947.

Detailed explanation-5: -Arsenicals and sulphonamides, drugs made by chemical tinkering with synthetic dyes, as well as a number of disinfectants made with metal ions toxic to bacteria, such as mercury or copper, were in use well before the introduction of penicillin.