Question

What is a fundamental principle of anti-infective therapy?

Options:

Selective toxicity, targeting microbial pathogens while sparing host cells.
Non-specific action, affecting both microbial pathogens and host cells equally.
Rapid elimination, ensuring a quick resolution of symptoms.
Symptomatic relief, focusing on alleviating patient discomfort rather than targeting the infection.

Answer 1

Selective toxicity is a fundamental principle of anti-infective therapy, as it allows for targeting microbial pathogens while sparing host cells.

Step-by-step explanation:

The fundamental principle of anti-infective therapy is selective toxicity, which means targeting microbial pathogens while sparing host cells. This is important because it allows the drug to effectively treat the infection without causing harm to the patient's healthy cells. Antimicrobial drugs, especially antibacterial drugs, are designed to have selective toxicity by targeting unique features of microbial cells.