IP: drug-resistant infections...

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> To: dave () farber net
> Subject: drug-resistant infections... (for IP)
> Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 23:00:40 -0400
> From: "Mike O'Dell" <mo () ccr org>
>
> Dave,
> if you'll permit a personal crusade item...
>
> having fought a battle with an MRSA infection (methicillin-resistant
> staph), i can tell you that *very* few things scare me more than the
> alarming rate of increase in drug-resistant infections.  seeing a
> 9-year-old at the bug doc's for his PIC line maintenance is pretty
> unsettling, but then discovering he didn't get the infection from
> surgery, but that he got it from "just a cut i got out in the woods"
> should concern *everyone* in a very direct and personal manner.
>
> the most infuriating part of MRSA is that they know with almost
> complete certainty how the drug resistance arose.  It seems that
> farmed fish are fed high levels of methicillin-family anitibiotics and
> the comfy aqueous envirnonment allowed the staph bacteria to develop
> immunity thousands of times faster than would have happened in the
> human population alone.
>
> if you get a descendant of those staph bugs, like i did, there are
> only a couple of drugs left to use.  they are extremely expensive,
> only administered IV+PIC, often toxic, and the bugs are developing
> resistance to those, too.
>
> note that many of the most powerful antibiotics are *not* metabolized
> in the body but simple excreted intact.  this means what happens in
> the sewer pipes can be the same thing that happened in the fish ponds,
> especially if lots of people are eliminating them at the same time.
>
> people MUST take anti-biotic over-use very, very seriously.
>
> they are miraculous drugs, but *only* if you really need the miracle.
>
>         -Mike O'Dell


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