Kipengele K,

Bpharm

Basic Pharmacology
NTA Level 4 Semester 2

2020
1
 Kipengele K,
Bpharm

Description of Anti-infective
Medicines

Session 3
Description of Anti-infective Medicines

By the end of this session students are expected

to be able to:
Define anti-infective medicine
Describe pharmacological classes of anti-
infective medicine
 Ant –infective medicines
Ant –infective medicines are those medicines
used to fight against organisms that cause
infections
Drug, anti-infective: Something capable of
acting against infection, by inhibiting the spread
of an infectious agent or by killing the infectious
agent outright
Anti-infective is a general term that
encompasses antibacterials, antibiotics,
antifungals, antiprotozoans and antivirals.
 Pharmacological classes of anti-
infective medicine
 In pharmacological classification, anti-infective
drugs are grouped according to similarity indication.
 There are several pharmacological classes of anti-
infective medicine which are listed in the National
essential drug lists. The classes include:
1. Antibacterial : used in treatment of various
bacterial infection groups of antbacterials.
Examples: Aminoglycosides, antitubaculosis
and leprosy, fluoroquinolones, peniciliins and
cephalosporins, macrolides, chloramphenical,
tetracyclines.
 Pharmacological classes of anti-
infective medicine
2. Antiprotozoans: used to treat protozoans infections
such as moebiasis, filariasis, leishmaniasis, malaria,
and schistosomiasis and trypanosomiasis.
Examples
3. Ant helminthes:Used in treatment of various worm
infestation.
Examples:
4. Fungicides (Systemic and Mucosal): used in
management of systemic and mucosal fungal infection
Examples:
5. Antiviral: used to treat viral infection
Examples
Self Evaluation
What is ant-infective medicine?
What are the main groups of ant-infective medicines?
With examples describe the pharmacological
classification of medicine.