World could face outbreak of 'virtually untreatable' TB after deadly strain is discovered in SA

[snagglepuss]

Clinics see explosion in cases of 'drug resistant' bacterial lung infections

Conventional antibiotics powerless to combat new disease

Medics fear repeat of New York outbreak which killed 90% of those infected

Experts call for more action to tackle infections in poorer countries




Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2277177/World-face-outbreak-virtually-untreatable-TB-deadly-strain-discovered-South-Africa.html#ixzz2KdiAJpKG

[LeftishBrit]

1. While this is a matter of concern, let's not that the Daily Mail is a super-sensational rag, and

we'd all have died many times already if they were to be believed on everything.

Drug-resistant TB is a very serious problem, but I don't thing that a huge epidemic is necessarily round the corner.

[snagglepuss]

2. Why shoot the messanger? According to WSJ the WHO and other health experts

"are acknowledging that the scope of the problem is far beyond what they had foreseen".


snip

NEW DELHI—For the first time, five emerging-market nations with extensive infectious-disease problems—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—have agreed to work together to fight an epidemic of drug resistance in tuberculosis.

The pact is the latest indication that the world is awakening to the threat of drug-resistant TB, a killer that claims hundreds of thousands of lives annually and which is threatening to become all but incurable, in some instances, with current treatments. The agreement comes as the World Health Organization and other global health experts are acknowledging that the scope of the problem is far beyond what they had foreseen.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324900204578282241211725124.html

[LeftishBrit]

6. I don't shoot the messenger because of the message, but because it really is an evil messenger.

See this:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=217468

In the case of the Daily Mail, I would honestly suspect a subtext of 'watch out, the evil immigrants and asylum seekers will give you TB if you let them in'.

Thank you for now quoting from a better source. It is indeed very important for the countries of the world to fight against this danger before it indeed becomes a global danger.

[davidn3600]

7. Are you suggesting that this is untrue?

It's no joke and certainly no surprise.

Bacteria have been evolving to become resistant to our antibiotics. Many bacterial diseases will eventually become incurable once again. And with a world becoming increasingly over-populated, and traveling very quickly, the next pandemic is going to be very bad.

[LeftishBrit]

8. No, I am not! I am suggesting that the Daily Mail could be using it for bad purposes.

I think people may not 'get' me on this here,because the Daily Mail is British and people in America may not be so familiar with it. It, combined with the Murdoch press, are very baleful influences on our society. Almost like a drug-resistant infection in themselves!

I am not shooting the message, but the specific messenger. A comparable situation might be if someone brought up a health risk as something mentioned in Rush Limbaugh's talk-show.

I fully agree that drug-resistant bacteria are a very serious problem, and I think I have posted on this myself a few times (and I agree that the ease of travel also makes serious diseases much easier to spread). I just ALWAYS object to the Daily Mail being quoted, for the same reasons as you would object to Rush Limbaugh's talk-show being quoted. And they sometimes do get health and safety information wrong: sometimes minimizing real risks - e.g. some of their writers deny global warming; sometimes spreading false scares - e.g. they were the chief spreaders of the 'MMR causes autism' scare. Even when discussing a real and serious danger, I wouldn't rely on them for the details, but would go to a different source.

[lindysalsagal]

3. Then there's only one thing to do:

Bacon, pasta, chocolate, 24/7, until further notice.

[KT2000]

4. Get used to it

There are already many drug resistant bacteria and more to come. (There is now a drug resistant urinary tract infection)
It was predicted that bacteria would develop resistance but even in the face of that, no one had the courage to eliminate the routine use of antibiotics in our food supply - factory meat and poultry farms, contaminated water used to irrigate crops and the water we drink. Adding antibiotics to consumer goods has been a terrific marketing tool that has further spread resistance.

Dr. Alexander Fleming, the man who discovered penicillin in 1929, informed us that numerous bacteria had developed resistance to it that same year. It was not until World War II that penicillin was developed for commercial use and at that time Dr. Fleming warned that improper use would lead to resistant bacteria. By 1995, ninety-five percent of Staphylococcus aureus was resistant to penicillin. Methicillin was then used in its place. It took about one year for methicillin resistant staph to develop, what we now refer to as MRSA.
It may take many generations for bacteria to develop resistance. For some bacteria a generation is 20 minutes!