[The fight against bacteria: the antibiotics policy]

Development of bacterial resistance towards antibiotics is no longer a local phenomenon. It has by now become a European and global problem, as a result of unjustified and unprofessional administration of antibiotics in gratuitously high quantities, not only in the medicinal practice, but also in the agriculture. The resistant bacteria may spread from animals to humans, transmitted by the food-chain. A recent danger includes the appearance of the vancomycin-resistant strains (VRSA) besides the methycillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. The number of the vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) is also expected to grow in the future. The present paper reports the results of the international activities in the past decades, which is related to the fight against resistant bacteria. Such research involves the production of synthetic compounds, the development of semi-synthetic beta-lactam-, aminocyclitol-, macrolide-, and glycopeptide antibiotics, as well as the introduction of new enzyme-inhibitory substances. Elaboration of basic principles of the rational application of antimicrobial agents is an increasingly urgent need along with the establishment of national and European data bases in which the supply and consumption of related medicines are registered and kept under control.