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Sat 1 Oct, 2011 05:28 pm
Context:
Unfortunately, from the moment antibiotics were discovered, they have been used excessively and with little attention to the inevitable consequence of resistance. Although they are a treasure for all humanity, they have been regarded as inexhaustible gifts, without full appreciation that they are a limited resource that can be renewed only with great difficulty and expense. More recently, antibiotic discovery and development has almost stopped, in part because of a vast underestimation of the implications of antibiotic resistance. Some people pointed out the potential of indiscriminate antibiotic use to give rise to resistant bacteria1, but these warnings had limited effect on practice. Additionally, although we focus on resistance to antibiotics here, it should be borne in mind that resistance is also a problem for most antimicrobials, including agents used for treating parasites, fungi, mycobacteria, and viruses.
No, just the simple meaning of treasure, which is to say, something of great value.