ABSTRACT
Destruction and inhibition of microorganisms by chemical agents is an option frequently exercised in a variety of fields. Most notable examples are chemical preservation of foods and beverages and the disinfection of drinking water by chlorination or administration of other antimicrobials. In medicine, the use of antibacterial (mostly antibiotics) and antifungal drugs is quite common and the same can be said about drugs that destroy or inhibit protists and worms. Antimicrobial agents of similar activities are also widely used in agriculture. Decontamination of space and equipment and by a gaseous chemical agent, regardless of whether the contaminant is a naturally occurring microorganism or a deliberately introduced bacterium or spore (bioterrorism), is another example of chemical treatment that can have public safety implications.
