more on Infection Kills 100 Quebec Patients

[dave () farber net]

___

Dave Farber  +1 412 726 9889



...... Forwarded Message .......
From: "Mike O'Dell" <mo () ccr org>
To: dave () farber net
Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2004 09:25:40 -0400
Subj: Re: [IP] more on Infection Kills 100 Quebec Patients

Staph Aureus is one of the most common hospital-acquired
infections in the US and Europe.  MRSA is "Methicillin-Resistant
Staph Aureus".

MRSA infections are increasing in frequency everywhere
and are the result of over-use of antibiotics.  
the case of MRSA, though, it began not in humans but in aquaculture.
(Having been through a bout of MRSA, I spent a lot of time
talking to my "bug doc" (infectious diseases specialist) about it
so I'm reporting what he told me.)  It seems that the first
MRSA strains appeared as a direct result of feeding methicillin-class
antibiotics to farmed fish. the Staph Aureus in the water was
then swimming in a methicillin bath and Evolution did the rest.

The really scary part is that there are now strains of S.Areus
that are partially resistant to Vancomycin, the current drug of last
resort.

This is but one example of why the massive infusion of antibiotics
into the food chain is a Truly Bad Idea.

        -mo


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