Fascinating Science/Medical Article ...

[nightdog_barks]

... and possible bunny source for writers, in the new issue (August 8th & 11th) of The New Yorker.



Superbugs, by Jerome Groopman.

Explores the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, in particular the "ESKAPE"-class bugs (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumanni, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the Entero-bacter species). Recaps the story of over-prescribing for viral infections and the shift by Big Pharma towards maintenance drugs (e.g., Lipitor for high cholesterol) that people essentially take forever.

Interesting quote:

Doctors and researchers fear that these bacteria may become entrenched in hospitals, threatening any patient who has significant health issues. “Anytime you hear about some kid getting snatched, you want to find something in that story that will convince you that that family is different from yours,” Dr. Louis Rice, an expert in antibiotic resistance at Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, told me. “But the problem is that any of us could be an I.C.U. patient tomorrow. It’s not easy to convey this to people if it’s not immediately a threat. You don’t want to think about it. But it’s actually anybody who goes into a hospital. This is scary stuff.” Rice mentioned that he had a mild sinusitis and was hoping it would not need to be treated, because taking an antibiotic could change the balance of microbes in his body and make it easier for him to contract a pathogenic organism while doing his rounds at the hospital.

Comments

[nightdog-barks.livejournal.com]

The part about how antibiotics are the only drugs that doctors urge other doctors not to use when they're developed made me laugh, in a horrified sort of way.

Yes! It's like, "Here, we've developed all these life-saving drugs, but let's not use them because they could be lost to us too quickly." Scary and sad. I mean, if you carry that to it's fullest extent, how do you decide who to save? When to use the drug? Ouch.

[misanthropicobs.livejournal.com]

A very large part of the problem is that we've been using antibiotics and disinfectants for years in everything from household cleaners to animal food. Therefore it's just one more way humans shoot themselves in the foot because by using low levels of these things that kill 99.9% of something it means that the other .1 percent which survive are the resistant bugs which then reproduce with each other giving rise to ever more resistant bugs. Hence the warnings about not using unless it is truly a last resort. Talk about "evolution in action" and we are one of the driving forces in this evolution.