Antibiotic Resistance

[anthro-nerd]

Having studied this a lot during my University days, I'm a little concerned that antibiotic resistance has come around so quickly.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21702647

Interested to know how people feel about this, considering it's potential severity, I'm surprised it hasn't taken more precedence in the news.

[jim360]

It's something I'm concerned about and hope that action can and will be taken to remedy the situation. I suspect that for many people it's not something they worry about because, among other things, it hasn't actually happened yet beyond isolated cases. So it's something for the future. And I think it's increasingly obvious that people don't seem to get fears for the future as things to actually be afraid about. They might happen, they might not, so let's hope for the best and carry on as normal.

Such people could be in for a very rude awakening if so. At least, on this issue, there's no real controversy about whether or not the threat is real.

[anthro-nerd]

This is what worries me Jim - why aren't people taking it more seriously - like you said, there is no real controversy about whether or not the threat is real. It's happening right now, and we'll be thrown into a post-antibiotic era.

[Canary42]

It's publicity is mainly persistently suppressed by the powerful drug lobby who make millions from sale if antibiotics.

[Canary42]

*of antibiotics

[woofgang]

It has been discussed briefly on here before (look below) While not wishing to teflon the problem elsewhere, I wonder how much of the global problem is being exacerbated by the countries where antibiotics can be purchased without prescription?
This link is interesting
http://www.soilassociation.org/news/newsstory/articleid/7755/new-eu-report-reveals-scale-of-antibiotic-overuse-in-farming-and-links-it-to-resistance-in-human-inf

personally I try very hard to avoid antibiotic use and my Gp surgery are very reluctant to prescribe them.

[Sqad]

\\I'm a little concerned that antibiotic resistance has come around so quickly.\\Depends what you mean by "so quickly"

Way back in 1959 some 60 years ago it was well recognised and the the question in medical finals was "Discuss the use and Abuse of Antibiotics"

So, it isn't new.

Doctors had a potent form of treatment in antibiotics and patients new this and demanded antibiotics.

Many a doctor has been censured by the courts in the past, for NOT using antibiotics and so the medical profession is often caught between a rock and a hard thing.

Urologists often used long term antibiotics as did many Chest Physicians.

\\\\ I'm surprised it hasn't taken more precedence in the news.\\\

It has been in the news many times over the past decade, but the attitude of the public seems to be....."it's not my problem."

My opinion is that the danger of drug resistant antibiotics is over stated.

[Cloverjo]

It worries me. Things may have changed recently but I had a friend who'd think nothing of getting antibiotics when she or her child had a cold, and the GP would prescribe them.

[Canary42]

I agree woof - and have on occasion binned antibiotic prescriptions and not suffered any adverse affects at all.

[Canary42]

Having said that, penicillin probaly saved my life when I was 10 years old.

[pixie374]

It isn't new at all. Sqad might correct this, but a local doctor here says it wasn't caused by overreaching, more by people starting and not finishing the course, which allowed the bacteria to mutate and become immune to it.

[pixie374]

...over-prescribing...Autocorrect...

[TheChair]

Of course, shovelling antibiotics into farm animals as a way of fattening them up probably didn't help.

[woofgang]

canary, why don’t you just refuse the prescription?

[woofgang]

just to add that about 45 years ago I had tonsillitis for which I was given penicillin. I finished the course and it didn’t work so the doc, commenting that bacteria were getting more resistant and how small a dose of penicillin had originally been needed to treat infections, gave me another prescription of a stronger dose which triggered a penicillin allergy, happily not the dangerous swell up and suffocate situation but unpleasant enough.
My point is that even that long ago doctors knew about resistance but their solution then was bigger doses!

[rsvp]

Well I'm more concerned that our resident medical expert is missing a 'k' from a word in the sentence above.
Is this the first step in the slippery slope? - perhaps we will be advised to take too Ibruprofen and sea how we feel in the mourning. :-)

[Sqad]

LOL......I saw it but couldn't be bothered to change it............"Knew"

[Peter Pedant]

bit of a technical point coming up

[ 1976 medical finals - there was 'you are the health minister of an African republic, discuss the rational use of your budget' ....but it was a paper in public health and hygiene. The invigilator said: 'please do not write an essay on economics' ...... just thought I would comment ]

Antibiotic resistance is carried on an extra bit of DNA in the bacterium, so what you do is ... boot all the people with the awful bacterium out into the public arena without antibiotics and they have to compete with out-of-Hospital bacteria with shorter DNA and no multiple resistance
The shorter DNA bacteria win ( less energy needed to divide and in an antibiotic-less environment there is no evolutionary advantage )

simples

This theory was advanced by the doctors who reported the St Petersburg diphtheria outbreak in Manchester. If you vaccinate a decent proportion, the pathogen dies out as happened in Mank. As you know diphtheria toxin is coded by a bacteriophage and so if it cant cause disease it doesnt have an advantage and dies out. This has a name - energy burden theory or something

anyway I am on long term septrin for PCP prophylaxis
and resistance in pneumocystis has not been a problem

apparently without, having had one attack of PCP the chances of a second episode is one or 100%, if you wait long enough .... oo-er mrs !

[cupotee2]

Urologists often used long term antibiotics as did many **Chest Physicians**

My husband takes a regular Antibiotic, 3 times a week.[ Monday Wednesday and Friday]

He has COPD and a very low immune system. He was prescribed this dosage 2 years ago by an Immunologist.
Its worked wonders on his constant chest infections.

I have a friend who takes the same dosage for a completely different condition.

I do wonder how long it will be before my husband becomes immune to that particular drug.

[Peter Pedant]

Hi cuppa !

Septrin ? and immunosuppressed ?
if it is one tab three days a week - then it is indefinite ( for pneumocystis )

The consultant wagged his finger at me when I said I hadnt been very good at taking it....

[Old_Geezer]

I assume commercial medical companies and public money are allowing research into other weaknesses that can be exploited to create an antibiotic replacement. As a member of the public there's little I can do to compensate for the inevitable evolved resistance.