Introductory Chapter: Stepping into the Post-Antibiotic Era— Challenges and Solutions

Antibiotics are known to exist in the history of mankind since ancient times. They can be traced back to as early as 350–550 CE, when scientists found traces of tetracycline inhuman skeletal remains of ancient Sudanese Nuba [1]. This has led to the speculation that the diet of this population contained tetracycline. Even the red soils of Jordon which have been used since time immemorial to treat wounds have been shown to contain Actinomycete bacteria which produced actinomycin [2]. Antimicrobial activity is also present in many of the herbs used in traditional Indian Ayurvedic and Chinese medicines.