Necrotizing Fasciitis

This nasty little bug also known as the flesh eating bacteria or gangrene is the feral beast that was responsible for Aimee Copeland's disaster in my last post.  Just to give you a very brief history on this disease, it was one of the most common causes of death and amputation in wars prior to WWII when antibiotics became available.  Suddenly there was a silver bullet.  And for the next sixty or so years that would remain.

So what happened to Aimee Copeland?  She sought early treatment.  She was treated correctly.  Yet medical professionals were sought to resort to early 20th century techniques to rid her of the disease.  And Why?  The bacteria had evolved into an antibiotic resistant strain and in the most unlikely of places.  Rural Georgia USA in the Little Tallapoosa River.

So the next question is how could a superbug be found in such a place?  Normally they are found in sterile environments like hospitals where antibiotics are in abundance and bacteria can learn to resist them.  But a river in rural Georgia?

Well yes, I do have a theory.  I might add it is just a theory, I have on hard evidence to back it up.  But here goes anyway.  There are a lot of livestock farms in that area.  Many would be using antibiotics to treat their animals on even a prophylactic basis.  These antibiotics would for many reasons run off into water catchments and rivers and interact with bacteria forming superbugs.

The following flow diagram is sourced from the US Government Accountability Office and describes how antibiotic use in animals may effect the health and safety of people.

Now I have to say that I can understand it if a farmer has a sick animal(s) that they would want to treat them with antibiotics.  But why we would treat our livestock with antibiotics prophylactically is beyond me.  You wouldn't treat a healthy person like that so why an animal.  That practice has to stop and controls need to be bought into place to govern what and how these drugs are administered when animals do get sick.

So what can we do about it?  First, only buy organic.  For livestock to be sold in the market it cannot be stamped organic if it has ever been treated with antibiotics.  Second, you  can contact your local politician and communicate your concern if you feel so inclined.  Anyway, I think that that is enough from me on this one.  I don't want to get a reputation as a conspiracy theorist.  Until next time, stay well:)

Update on my last prophecy

A couple of days after I published my last post, Australian current affairs show "Sixty Minutes" published this story about superbugs.  Stay Well:)

Check out this great MSN video - Superbugs

Another prophecy

This is not a great prophecy.  In fact I hope it doesn't come true.  If it does it could spell disaster of a pandemic proportion.  I am of course talking about the super bug.

Tiny little microscopic lifeforms that are resistant to all our attempts to destroy them.  And why do they exist?  Simple, we have unwittingly made them through the misuse of antibiotics that were created to vanquish these unwanted creatures.

So, how does this work?  Simply, if a bacteria comes into contact with an antibiotic, normally the antibiotic will kill the bacteria and that will be it.  But if antibiotic is unsuccessful in destroying all the bacteria, it will evolve and gain a resistance to that particular antibiotic.  Now if this happens a number of times with different antibiotics, the bug will become very hard to kill and become a superbug.

As patients we can perpetuate this problem by mistreating antibiotics.  For example, if we decide to self medicate and take the wrong antibiotic the bug will evolve to combat that strain of antibiotic and we will have created a smarter bug.  If we fail to finish a course of antibiotics we may find that we have failed to eradicate all the bugs and the remainder will become resistant to the antibiotic.  It is why it is important to follow the instructions of your doctor and be disciplined about taking your medication.

However, this is not the only reason why a superbug maybe created.  Doctors can share some of the blame too as some of them prescribe antibiotics needlessly.  Doctors need to be more frugal with their prescriptions and only prescribing the right antibiotic when it is needed.

We also need to put tighter controls on agriculture.  Many farmers feed antibiotics to their livestock prophylactically to prevent them from getting sick.  Research has shown this to be a very ineffective strategy as livestock that is not fed antibiotics has a similar level of health and is much easier to treat if they do get sick.  These antibiotics are also ingested by us when we eat the livestock.  Realistically, the practice of giving antibiotics to livestock doesn't even make sense on a financial level either.

It is also very worrying in nations with little controls on the use of antibiotics.  In certain countries with poor regulatory rules regarding antibiotics, it is not just possible to purchase a course of antibiotics without a script but it is also possible to buy a single tablet.  Creating the perfect breeding ground for superbugs.  The pharmaceutical companies in these countries have also been found guilty of emptying their antibiotic waste into waterways.

So should we not be taking antibiotics?  Of course not.  We just need to be responsible with them.  And hopefully with proper regulations from the powers that be antibiotics will be our number one defence against unwanted bacteria for a long time to come.  Until next time, stay well:)