Outline how antibiotics offer protection from certain forms of infectious disease.

Ever since the accidental discovery of Penicillin by Alexandre Fleming in 1928, antibiotics have revolutionised modern medicine. Also known as 'anti-bacterials' they are used to treat often deadly bacterial infections. Antibiotics function by disrupting essential molecular processes, which the bacteria require to survive such as binary fission and by physically damaging bacterial cell walls. For example, B (beta) - Lactam antibiotics such as penicillin prevent the proper formation of the cell wall by inhibiting enzymes which catalyse the cross linking of peptides. This significantly weakens the cell wall, leading to the buildup of osmotic pressure inside the cell which causes the bacteria to die. Furthermore, the weakened cell wall prevents the bacteria from dividing, often halting the spread of the infection. This kills the vast majority of the susceptible bacteria, which allows immune cells such as immunoglobulins to easily fight off the rest of the infection.