Resistant Infections - No Minor Nuisance

Resistant Infections: No Minor Nuisance  by Thomas Murray Murray We’ve all been shocked by the occasional news stories about the dreaded flesh-eating We’ve  bacteria With With so many negative negative stories in the news! news! it’s easy to convince yourself! yourself! "that could never ha##en to me$ %owever! even the most common hos#ital infections like sta#hylococcus! once considered a minor nuisance easily cured by antibiotics like methicillin! have begun to show an increased resistance to the latest medications In &''&! doctors in (eneva first confirmed Methicillin-resistant )ta#hylococcus aureus or MR)*! the most common hos#ital infection in the world +acteria with drug resistance can! as their name im#lies! i m#lies! resist standard courses of treatment with even the strongest antibiotics! s#reading from the site of infection through the  bloodstream! causing system-wide system-wide infections %owever! these #ersistent infections eventually succumb to treatment! but it is often in longer-than-recommended longer-than-recommended courses of medicines ,nfortunately! with such treatment! the drugs are so #otent they make the #atient sick *s a last resort! surgical removal of the infected tissue or am#utation is the only effective treatment ,ntil a few years ago! such su#er-bugs were thought contained to hos#itals %owever! an article in the anuary edition of .nvironmental %ealth /ers#ectives medical 0ournal  #roves that sterili1ation sterili1ation #rocedures in hos#itals along with #ro#er sanitation sanitation and advanced medicines are no longer "silver bullets$ against the s#read of these insidious maladies into the general #o#ulation Research #ublished in the ournal of the *merican Medical *ssociation *ssociation further indicates that outbreaks of tuberculosis and 2egionnaire’s infections have shown signs of flourishing outside of hos#itals and in much more #ublic settings like restaurants and office buildings *s *s a high #rofile e3am#le! when word broke in 4ctober &''5 that the "Man of )teel$ 6hristo#her Reeve! #assed away "from com#lications arising from an infection!$ few in mainstream *merica reali1ed his disability had not contributed directly to his death %owever! when #ressure sores due to immobility or the use of #rosthetics threaten to kill you! you tend to take notice *s easy as it may seem see m to #oint the finger at the medical establishment! blame for the increased risk of e3#osure lay as often at the feet of #atients as it does on the shoulders of their doctors 4ver-#rescri#tion is the most common cause of medication resistance in bacteria Ironically! because viral infections like the common cold and

the winter flu do not res#ond to antibiotic treatment! #rescribing antibiotics as a  blanket cure "0ust to be safe$ was once thought by most family doctors to be harmless The sobering fact is! #rescribing antibiotics for non-bacterial infections reduces the overall effectiveness of those drugs in the general #o#ulation Reali1ing this! more doctors limit the issue of antibiotics e3clusively to cases of bacterial infection )o! many #atients cannot understand their doctor’s sudden reluctance to #rescribe antibiotics! es#ecially where children are concerned )adly! due largely to the nation’s broken healthcare system! it is still more costeffective for a doctor to #rescribe a "harmless$ antibiotic to allay a #atient’s concerns than it is to s#end office time educating them What is im#ortant for #atients to know7 8irst! antibiotics do not treat viral infections )econd! bacteria evolve much 9uicker than multi-cellular organisms like us; due to their ra#id growth and short lifes#ans! meaning several generations of bacterial cells may #roliferate in mere days Thus! the genetic mutations that occur naturally over time in all organisms can select for survival only those lucky few bacteria that coincidentally develo# antibiotic resistance This means taking antibiotics im#ro#erly actually causes drug resistance 2astly! antibiotics work differently from #atient to  #atient and against certain bacterial strains 8or one #erson with a throat infection! an older antibiotic like amo3icillin may be enough! but for more and more #eo#le newer! stronger drugs like 1ithroma3 are the only effective remedies %owever! these newest drugs are unreasonably e3#ensive There are things we all can do to sto# the assault of resistant bacteria )ince #eo#le are living longer! healthier lives! sanitation #rocedures such as chlorination and high tem#eratures at healthcare facilities and nursing homes must be im#roved The lack of  education on the sub0ect to #atients and caregivers and the com#lacence by doctors are correctable issues +y working together! we can slow the s#read of killer versions of bacterial infections like sta#hylococcus and stre#tococcus into the mainstream