Medical Benefits Of Animal Testing

Animal testing has been around for thousands of years, as early as the time of Greek physician-scientist, Aristotle in 384 BC. Since Aristotle, the importance of animal testing has increased, and so has the debate over whether or not animal testing should be allowed. While some argue that animal testing for medicine is a viable choice, others argue that it is not. Animal testing has improved human health. Due to animal testing, vaccines and antibiotics have reduced the spread of infectious diseases (Hajar, 1). The increase of biomedical research with animals has allowed for people to receive vaccines and antibiotics that have helped prevent the spread of diseases, such as influenza, chickenpox and herpes (Holder, “Medical Benefits”). A great animal-tested antibiotic that has helped save millions of lives is penicillin. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in1928; this helped by fighting bacteria in human’s bodies (Hajar, 1). Other animal-tested drugs that have been of great use are insulin and HIV drugs. With medical research and the countless number of testing on animals, these drugs have helped save lives and keep humans healthy; as well as keep them away from pain. Another great benefit that comes from animal testing is the prevention …show more content…
Around ninety two percent of drugs tested on animals have failed to be used or qualified for human use (Hajar, 1). The reason behind this is due to the side effects that a lot of these drugs lead to when tested on a real human. Some of the drugs tested on the animals have also not been tested for long periods of time. A drug not tested for a long period of time does not ensure whether or not the drug can further cause a disease such as cancer or heart problems during the future. Such reasons qualify to not allow further testing on animals with any drugs since results cannot possibly be as accurate as