How Did Penicillin Affect Society

The Invention of Penicillin One of the greatest inventions ever has been the penicillin drug. Penicillin drugs are used to fight a large number of bacterial infections. It was first recognized in the United Kingdom, but because of World War II the United States had the major role in producing the drug. The discovery and production of penicillin changed our society by saving many people’s lives. Before penicillin was founded, there was no real cure for infections such as pneumonia. People who even got cut or scratched would sometimes have to go to the hospital because they would get blood poisoning. It had long been discovered that antibiotics were compounds of bacteria and fungi, but it was not until the year of 1928 that penicillin was discovered. In September of 1928, Alexander Fleming was sorting through some petri dishes that contained Staphylococcus and other bacteria. He found something strange on one of the dishes; he saw a clear ring around the mold where the bacteria had been withdrawn from growing. Fleming discovered that the mold juices could kill many harmful bacteria. He and his assistants isolated pure penicillin from the mold juice (Alexander). In March of 1942, the …show more content…
One of the impacts is that bacterial infections are not as much of a threat. This drug changed the treatment so much that it was considered the most life-saving drug in the world. Another important impact is that penicillin has activated the Age of Antibiotics. The advancement on medicine has simply shot through the roof since then. Possibly the greatest impact from the penicillin drug is that it has saved millions of lives around the world, counting the many soldiers from the World War II. A negative impact of this drug is that some people have overused penicillin, causing it to lose its effectiveness. However, this drug is so important because it has saved many people’s lives from dying