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The Greek word anti means "against", and the Greek word biosmeans "life" (bacteria are life forms). Antibiotics are used to treat infections caused by bacteria. Bacteria are microscopic organisms, some of which may cause illness. The word bacteria is the plural of bacterium. Such illnesses as syphilis, tuberculosis, salmonella, and some forms of meningitis are caused by bacteria. Some bacteria are harmless, while others are good for us. Before bacteria can multiply and cause symptoms, the body's immune system can usually destroy them. We have special white blood cells that attack harmful bacteria. Even if symptoms do occur, our immune system can usually cope and fight off the infection. There are occasions, however, when it is all too much and some help is needed.....from antibiotics. The first antibiotic was penicillin. Such penicillin-related antibiotics as ampicillin, amoxicillin and benzylpenicilllin are widely used today to treat a variety of infections - these antibiotics have been around for a long time. There are several different types of modern antibiotics and they are only available with a doctor's prescription in industrialized countries. According to Medilexicon's medical dictionary, Antibacterial means: "Destructive to or preventing the growth of bacteria." There is concern worldwide that antibiotics are being overused. Antibiotic overuse is one of the factors that contributes towards the growing number of bacterial infections which are becoming resistant to antibacterial medications. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), outpatient antibiotic overuse in the USA is a particular problem in the Southeast. According to the ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control), antibiotic resistance continues to be a serious public health threat worldwide. In a statement issued in 19th November 2012, the ECDC informed that an estimated 25,000 people die each year in the European Union from antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. New ECDC data has shown that there has been a considerable increase over the last four years of combined resistance to multiple antibiotics in E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae in over one third of EU and EEA (European Economic Area) nations. Consumption of carbapenems, a major class of last-line antibiotics, increased significantly from 2007 to 2010.