Why Are Antibiotics Important In Ww1

Medicine has been around since the 20th century and is still in use today. Antibiotics are a type of medicine that helps stop infections caused by bacteria. The first Antibiotic (Penicillin) was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928. Since the discovery of Penicillin many other antibiotics have been discovered. The development of antibiotics was an important innovation because it cured infections, treated patients during World War I with infections and burns that led to the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
A main cause of death that couldn't have been treated then without antibiotics but can be treated now is plagues. Plages are not as common now but was a serious cause of death then. Families were torn apart, industries collapse, and economies fail under plague assault (Hirschmann 79). …show more content…
By D-Day 1944 penicillin was being widely used to treat troops for infections both in the field and hospitals throughout Europe (Microbiology Society). Many soldiers got treated with penicillin because of their infections and wounds they needed the penicillin to live.Cleanliness and hygiene are key weapons in preventing the spread of infection in both army accommodation and military hospitals. Soldiers living in the squalid conditions of the First World War trenches were susceptible to a range of infections, including typhus fever carried by lice. The treatment of trench fever extended our understanding of how to break the spread of such infections, with the more hygienic practises adopted in First World War base hospitals helping to structure modern approaches. If a soldier got an infection or burn and had to cut the skin it would be to dangerous because there would be a high risk of getting a infection. If world war soldiers were not treated then many of them would have lost their lives because of untreated burns and