The increasing resistance of bacteria towards all current classes of antibiotics is now a serious health problem in both developed and developing countries. Antibiotic Development and Resistance presents 15 chapters that explore the medical issues raised by this development and review the relevant literature. The book begins by reviewing the global status of bacterial infections and resistance. The chapters that follow describe the mechanisms involved, the spread of antibiotic resistance and its reversibility. An international team of authors addresses new theories and recent discoveries in bacterial resistance, including:

" The role of antibiotic efflux mechanisms in resistance
" The cost of resistance to bacteria
" The importance of low-level resistance in the early development of clinically relevant resistance

The final section of the book investigates modern techniques for the development of new drugs and highlights the importance of genomics and combinatorial chemistry in the search for new targets and antimicrobials. Ideal for clinical microbiologists, pathologists, infectious disease clinicians and researchers in medical microbiology and pharmaceutical sciences. Antibiotic Development and Resistance provides a comprehensive review of all aspects of resistance and addresses new concepts in the field of antibiotic development.