Okay I bite. Like the blog and some of the historical content is very accurate and well the choice of your color, like others have commented, is a bit hard to read. But it does give some people time to pause. I am concerned about something along those lines in the Pandemic illness world, I do not think it will be related to antibiotics, but a pandemic flu that has a very high morbidity and mortality rate. While Tamiflu and other drugs that will help lessen the symptoms, it simply will not kill the strain of virus, allowing it to spread amongst the population as you suggested.
I know their is a ton of literature of different strains of bacteria and that many have become resistant to the known on the market antibiotics. Too be honest, there is a bit of fallacy when it comes to this sudden concern often flamed by media outlets. So lets break this thought down for the non-virologist type of mindset.
First and foremost, your thinking on the level of the practitioner level, multi-spectrum antibiotics are used each and every day, and for the most part, most world citizens take it for granted. Antibiotics are used in the food we eat, even the person who claims that their food is AKA natural, well it simply is not true. I've posted an example of what we see using the farm to market to consumer. I think it will give some credence to what is an ongoing concern, but that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Center of Disease Control (CDC) are teaming up to study this issue. I draw your attention to two pdf's that describe the concerns aired by a former counterpart of mine and he has been addressing this issue for years (not something just reported in the Times). Ar-Infographic reflects the proposed concern regarding antibiotic resistant strains in the food chain. Examples of this were outbreaks in poultry producing plants, recalls of vegetables (spinach and lettuce are two that come to my mind). I know that many people cite the ongoing issue with Texas famed Blue Bell ice cream plant, but the reality is that
Listeria monocytogenes is a very nasty and pesky critter that is an anaerobic bacteria and because of it virulent mannerism is not only a killer, but one that can allude being killed. Part of the reason, in my opinion, the issue of ice cream plants will in the future be of focus by CDC and state health departments.
Second, I've often wondered what the average American understands about strains. Most American's are unaware that some of these bacteria have been around since the dawn of mankind, possibly when man first took his first breath of air. Some bacteria is beneficial for man, so lets keep that in perspective when we talk about bacteria. The increased use as you stated in your blog regarding microbes which are resistant to multiple antimicrobials are called
multidrug resistant (MDR). See attachments named CDCinforgrpahic and Antibioticresistance_diagram for a better explanation on the morphology of strains and spread occurs. Why are people concerned, well many explanations can't be filled in this simple response, but 1) Elderly and the young are the most susceptible to MDR strains that are respiratory related, 2) The elderly and those with populations that have respiratory histories are in the high category of acquiring and having a higher morbidity and mortality rate, and 3) Typically children and those who abuse the use of antibiotics may be the underground silent carriers as they exhibit less or milder symptoms often misdiagnosed in a clinical setting. Certainly having worked in a clinical setting in the last decade, I can assure you with Obamacare and Insurance, a full examination lasting more than 15 minute's doctor contact time, is a thing of the past, often, why their is a higher rate of misdiagnosis in a clinical setting and often contributing to serious emergencies (that require long-term admission and treatment). I draw your attention to the Ebola scare in the Dallas hospital as an example, where said, patient was sent home, exhibiting other signs and being misdiagnosed/ultimately leading to the patients death, isolation of exposed loved ones and confirmation/treatment of secondary exposures.
While there is a group of MDR's out there, the potential for respiratory acquired illnesses are the most prevalent type of MDR's that the CDC are concerned most. Community-Acquired Bacterial Pneumonia (CABP), Klebsiella pneumonia and common ventilator used Acinetobacter baumanii are the three that I am mostly concerned about. MRSA is one that gets most of the top billing headlines, even locally, we are not immune to MRSA as this was tested positive in a local school that my son attends. However, while scary, it is treatable and with a thorough cleaning using antimicrobials and other known regimens can be controlled.
Education both in the hands of medical staff and the general public is the key, WHO and CDC have made this one of the critical education points to all medical facilities nationally and internationally, and while I do understand your concern, I'd like to point out that other developed antibiotics are developed, but have not been released for public use.
So rest easy folks, while I draw your attention to attachment named AntimcrresUKreview2, the numbers should be a bit alarming but still do not outpace cancer in Morbidly and Mortality rates. Lastly, as I address my many friends on DPF community, we should not consider Hollywood's interpretation of drug resistance strained bacteria as a cause that would end humanity. Even the Black Death as stated in F.P.'s blog, the MMR still allowed most of Europe and Asia to be affected. Granted they did not have the airplane or modern conveyance during that time and the true possibility that a true bacteria could spread quickly around the world should be concerned as we saw with the Ebola transmissions occurring outside Africa.
I hope this information helps. I won't insult anyone intelligence, if your that concerned then go to the CDC website, I know some of you suspect the government, but the info is there for you to accept or not accept. I am sure that many of you, like me, do not have a multimillion dollar laboratory or the time to prove or disprove these theories, so use your judgement to make your choices.
