Totally drug-resistant TB emerges in India
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Re: Totally drug-resistant TB emerges in India
#2That is to be expected when no new drugs are developed in half a century.
We really should focus more on doing what we did with smallpox -- destroy it outright, rather than merely give it a bloody nose or two.
Re: Totally drug-resistant TB emerges in India
#3That is to be expected when no new drugs are developed in half a century. We really should focus more on doing what we did with smallpox -- destroy it outright, rather than merely give it a bloody nose or two.
The difference here is that smallpox is a virus that was eradicated with a vaccine. Antibiotics against bacteria are another matter. Vaccines allow your body to use its full nuclear arsenal. Antibiotics on the other hand are single points of failure that nature can route around.
Re: Totally drug-resistant TB emerges in India
#4That is to be expected when no new drugs are developed in half a century. We really should focus more on doing what we did with smallpox -- destroy it outright, rather than merely give it a bloody nose or two.
It's not quite that simple.
This popped up on Reddit a few days back and in the comments a physician from India mentioned that a big part of the problem is that a) antibiotics are extremely over-used as they can be gotten over the counter and people do not understand that they do nothing for viral infections like the common cold, and b) his patients rarely finished an entire course even when they were directed to.
Both of these factors combine to create a great environment for disease resistant strains of bacteria to emerge.
Re: Totally drug-resistant TB emerges in India
#5That is to be expected when no new drugs are developed in half a century. We really should focus more on doing what we did with smallpox -- destroy it outright, rather than merely give it a bloody nose or two.
The difference here is that smallpox is a virus that was eradicated with a vaccine. Antibiotics against bacteria are another matter. Vaccines allow your body to use its full nuclear arsenal. Antibiotics on the other hand are single points of failure that nature can route around.
Not only that, when antibiotics fail, they often leave your body in a weaker state than before you took them (by destroying helpful gut flora and damaging your intestinal tract).
Re: Totally drug-resistant TB emerges in India
#6That is to be expected when no new drugs are developed in half a century. We really should focus more on doing what we did with smallpox -- destroy it outright, rather than merely give it a bloody nose or two.
We will never, ever destroy TB. There are simply too many animal hosts for the disease. Hell, you can get it from your dog (http://www.petplace.com/dogs/tuberculosis-in-dogs/page1.aspx). The reason we could get rid of smallpox, the only reason, is that smallpox is a disease found only in human beings. There aren't a whole lot of diseases like this. Polio is one, I think.
But most communicable diseases that afflict humans can also be found in animals. Influenza, plague, leprosy... good luck on those.
Re: Totally drug-resistant TB emerges in India
#7That is to be expected when no new drugs are developed in half a century. We really should focus more on doing what we did with smallpox -- destroy it outright, rather than merely give it a bloody nose or two.
It's not quite that simple. This popped up on Reddit a few days back and in the comments a physician from India mentioned that a big part of the problem is that a) antibiotics are extremely over-used as they can be gotten over the counter and people do not understand that they do nothing for viral infections like the common cold, and b) his patients rarely finished an entire course even when they were directed to. Bo…
As a person who usually doesn't finish the full course of antibiotics if they're feeling healthy: Why does it matter?
Re: Totally drug-resistant TB emerges in India
#8Vaccines and antibiotics are not the only ways, and certainly not the most effective ways, to fight bacterial infections.
What we should be focusing on is developing bacteriophage technology (namely phage lysins).
As every human (a eukaryote) is prone to certain viruses (which can act only on eukaryotes), every bacteria (a prokaryote), this includes strep throat, TB, etc., is vulnerable to certain viruses (which can only work prokaryotes). These viruses are so specific that they only work on one type of bacteria, and they evolve at nearly the same rate as a bacteria evolves (which is how TB has become antibiotic resistant).
Re: Totally drug-resistant TB emerges in India
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not quite that simple. This popped up on Reddit a few days back and in the comments a physician from India mentioned that a big part of the problem is that a) antibiotics are extremely over-used as they can be gotten over the counter and people do not understand that they do nothing for viral infections like the common cold, and b) his patients rarely finished an entire course even when they were directed to. Bo…
As a person who usually doesn't finish the full course of antibiotics if they're feeling healthy: Why does it matter?
Because some of the bacteria remain. Not enough to make you feel unhealthy. Enough to breed and spread. These survivors are the ones that were most resistant to the antibiotics. Now they have less competition. They will breed more bacteria. More bacteria who inherit their improved resistance to antibiotics.
Some of their children will be even more resistant. Some of their children will end up in someone else who, just like you, did not finish the course of antibiotics and, just like you, ended up being an incubator for a hardier, more antibiotic resistant strain.
Eventually, the children are completely resistant and they laugh in the face of antibiotics, and then people start dying. People you never met. People who might be generations down the line from you infected with a super-resistant strain that can be traced back to you and others like you.
Re: Totally drug-resistant TB emerges in India
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not quite that simple. This popped up on Reddit a few days back and in the comments a physician from India mentioned that a big part of the problem is that a) antibiotics are extremely over-used as they can be gotten over the counter and people do not understand that they do nothing for viral infections like the common cold, and b) his patients rarely finished an entire course even when they were directed to. Bo…
As a person who usually doesn't finish the full course of antibiotics if they're feeling healthy: Why does it matter?
Because you are increasing the likelihood of giving rise to drug resistant variants of the life-form those antibiotics are directed towards. There is a whole field of investigation into this phenomenon. A good (technical) starting point if you are interested in more is: http://www.drug-resistance.org/
Please, for the sake of society at large, complete any and all antibiotic/antiviral drug courses you are prescribed by your physician.