C(8) Epimeric 8-hydroxy-erythromycins-B

Coevolution: mankind and microbes

In just 70 short years mankind has progressed from euphoria to despair over the effectiveness of antibiotics to protect and to cure mankind from morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases. Resistance due to evolutionary factors was observed shortly after antibiotics came into use and is now not only widespread but appears to be inevitable. This review is a rather personalized account of the various attempts to deal with this problem over time.