Question

Which of the following is not a characteristic of an ideal antibiotic?

• A. It acts only against specific strains of a bacterial species
• B. It has no toxic effects on the host
• C. It does not affect the normal microflora of the host
• D. It takes very less time to start acting against pathogens

Answer 1

The correct option is A It acts only against specific strains of a bacterial species

Antibiotics are chemical compounds that are produced by some microbes and can be used to retard the growth or kill other microbes. It used in the medical field as drugs to treat pathogenic infections.
As antibiotics are widely used on humans, animals and plants, these are expected to possess some desirable qualities. An ideal antibiotic should:

• be broad spectrum in action, i.e, it should act against a wide variety of different pathogenic microbes. For instance, it should not only act against different strains of the same bacterial species but also on different types of bacterial such as Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria.
• have no toxic or side effect on the host.
• not affect the normal microflora (microbes that normally inhabit the bodies of healthy organisms) of the host.
• take very less time to start working against pathogens within the body.