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 Psilocybeingzz
Extremist Taco & LSD Zealotry
 
Registered: 12/15/02
Posts: 13,463
Loc: International waters
Last seen: 4 hours, 20 minutes
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 Smoking-gun proof that misuse of antibiotics breeds superbugs
#6552614 - 02/10/07 10:35 PM (1 year, 7 months ago) |
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Smoking-gun proof that misuse of antibiotics breeds superbugs
Friday • February 9, 2007
Medical experts have long assumed that misuse of antibiotics breeds drug-resistant superbugs, but a newly released study has finally provided smoking-gun proof as to how this occurs.
Bacterial diseases that were once easy to treat, such as tuberculosis, gonorrhoea, typhus and pneumonia, are becoming ever-tougher challenges as germs evolve into strains that outstrip science's ability to keep up.
The new research provides hard evidence that antibiotics which are mismatched to the type of bacteria being targeted can hike this worsening resistance problem.
In the experiment, Surbhi Malhotra-Kumar and a team of microbiologists in Belgium and the Netherlands gave a partial course of two macrolide-class antibiotics -- clarithromycin and azithromycin -- that are commonly prescribed for bronchial infections to two randomly-selected groups of 74 people, one drug for each group.
They also gave placebos to a control group, which was to provide a yardstick for any changes observed.
The drug-taking subjects were not sick. The point was to monitor the drugs' effect on streptococci bacteria that were normal and harmless components of the flora in the mouth and throat.
The verdict was ironclad. Azithromycin swiftly created large numbers of bacteria that were resistant to macrolides, while clarithromycin encouraged the emergence of a highly resistant form.
This form was not only more resistant to macrolides, it also showed greater resistance to lincosamide, streptogramin B and tetracycline antibiotics.
The study, which is published by The Lancet, found that antibiotics had an enduring effect on this oral bacteria, of more than 180 days.
In other words, the harmless bacteria became a potential reservoir of drug-resistant DNA for pathogenic ones.
Penicillin is usually the weapon of choice for tackling harmful forms streptococci, but doctors often resort to macrolides if a patient is allergic to that drug.
In an assessment of the work, Stephanie Dancer, a microbiologist at Southern General Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland, said the finding provided crucial evidence to back a commonly-observed problem about misprescribed or misused antibiotics.
"All of us could see what was happening, but now we have proof," she told AFP in an interview.
The stakes could hardly be higher, said Dancer.
"It is an immense problem ... that is affecting every antimicrobial agent that Man has been able to find," she said. "We are squandering a precious resource."
She pointed the finger in particular at purchases of antibiotics over the counter or the Internet, and urged the launch of a public awareness campaign on the lines of "No drugs for bugs -- unless needed." — AFP
Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.
Edited by veggie (02/10/07 10:47 PM)
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 georgeM
Human
Registered: 07/05/05
Posts: 1,385
Loc: north eastern kansas
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 Re: Smoking-gun proof that misuse of antibiotics breeds superbugs [Re: Psilocybeingzz]
#6552751 - 02/10/07 11:15 PM (1 year, 7 months ago) |
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Good news!
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the chains of law have been broken
Best shroomery thread ever!
please support www.fsrcanada.com
 
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Continuum
Kid A
Registered: 07/19/06
Posts: 162
Last seen: 2 months, 3 days
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 Re: Smoking-gun proof that misuse of antibiotics breeds superbugs [Re: Psilocybeingzz]
#6553012 - 02/11/07 01:09 AM (1 year, 7 months ago) |
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now that is pretty scary
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fastfred
Registered: 05/17/04
Posts: 4,326
Loc: Dark side of the moon
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Re: Smoking-gun proof that misuse of antibiotics breeds superbugs [Re: Continuum]
#6553254 - 02/11/07 03:19 AM (1 year, 7 months ago) |
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Not really. It's exactly what you would expect. If you take antibiotics that kill off the microbes that are sensitive obviously what you are going to have left is the resistant microbes, which will multiply to fill the newly available space.
This is the obvious result of taking antibiotics. It's nothing new and it's not proof of anything. They sure tried to hype it in the story, but it's obviously very biased towards scaring people. They would have had no problem finding a scientist to point out the foolishness of this study.
They didn't breed any "superbugs" in their little 74 person study. They simply killed off the sensitive microbes and then said "Wow, now there are more resistant microbes present." Duhhh.... The antibiotics didn't create any superbugs, they simply killed off the competitors to the normal everyday resistand microbes that are in everyones system all the time allowing them to flourish.
-FF
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Drewwyann
Picker-Upper ofthe Pieces
Registered: 10/30/06
Posts: 3,350
Loc: Atlantis
Last seen: 2 days, 5 hours
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Re: Smoking-gun proof that misuse of antibiotics breeds superbugs [Re: fastfred]
#6553728 - 02/11/07 11:15 AM (1 year, 7 months ago) |
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they have backup antibiotics that arent available to the public for that reason. they save the really powerful ones for infections that cant be cured with normal antibios.
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