Bacterial Superbugs Resistant to Antibiotics - A Scary Topic

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I just watched this episode of a show called "Frontline" which in the States is on our Public Broadcasting System.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/hunting-the-nightmare-bacteria/

The show mentions that unlike other medications for conditions such as high cholesterol or cancer, antibiotics tend to become less effective in human populations over time, due to overuse. Bacteria mutate to become "gram negative." One way the bacteria change is that certain enzymes which can be transferred between different types of bacteria can cause genetic changes in bacteria which make them resistant to current antibiotics. It's basically evolution at work.

Additionally, market forces on the drug companies discourage pharmaceutical companies from doing Research and Development (R&D) on antibiotics. The show mentioned that R&D research can cost up to a billion dollars. But because they are meant for short term use, the companies cannot recuperate their return on investment (ROI). Therefore, big pharma, as the pharmaceutical companies are sometimes called, has mostly pulled out of antibiotic development.

I recall hearing that big pharma also pulled out of vaccination production, yeah, a sensitive topic on this list, and the US government ended up taking over. I suppose if there is enough awareness and pressure, the US government might take over the production of antibiotics.

I don't know what the pharmaceutical companies would think. They are huge donors to political candidates here and I'm sure that government policy would largely be swayed by their desire for profits over what's best for its citizens. The show just hints at that. I don't think it wanted its primary message to be distorted by politics.

At one time, microbiology was an interest of mine. If I were AS, I probably may have become focused on that and helped to develop some solutions.

UPDATE:

I have been reading about new developments in combatting "superbugs." The White House has responded. Still, there is more work to be done.

I myself was in the hospital for several days in 2014. I contracted one of these hospital-based superbugs. It's one that lives in the intestines. Over the past year, I've been subjected to severely painful attacks of abdominal cramping. Just yesterday, I had one of these attacks. Even though I was in serious pain, I did drive myself to the doctor. I am now wondering if that superbug is still present in my system, even though they were supposed to have treated it in the hospital. I'm going to call my doctor who saw me yesterday and let her know about that part of my medical history.

There are some serious bacterial infections that can be obtained in the hospital. One common one is ventilator-based bacteria that is hard to treat. I read that if you have surgery with a general anesthesia, you will be likely hooked to a ventilator. It is scary to think of that.

Check out the Plum Island Animal Disease Center. While presumed connected to the antibiotics problem, PIADC has its own scary matters.

most antibiotic use is that given to agricultural animals to promote growth. if that were stopped, it would do a whole lot toward not creating resistant bacteria. another terrible use of antibiotics is to give them for colds. drugs don't do a thing for colds and their indiscriminate use fuels resistance. mcdonald's and some other big meat consumers have turned to antibiotic-free meat. it's a step in the right direction.

I do know that a lot of antibiotic abuses occur within the animal farming business. That really should be monitored.

I did read about the development of a test for respiratory infections. It could tell if the infection was virus-based or bacterial. If bacterial, an antibiotic can be used. As of the date of the article, the test did take about 10 hours to determine the cause of the respiratory infection. But they are hoping to cut that time down to an hour.

As for the restaurant business, I personally am a vegetarian, so I don't eat meat, fish or poultry anyhow.

the more effective an antibiotic, the more dangerous will be those bacteria who survive it.
if it is only they who will reproduce, then it becomes exponentially more difficult to fight the multitudes of offspring.
broad spectrum antibiotics are the worst because the survivors have a general genetic disposition to prevail.
as far as i know (i am not going to refresh my knowledge at this time of night), antibiotics are molecules that appeal to bacteria who then are attracted to ingest them, and they "unfortunately" can not excrete the waste because it becomes lodged in their systems and they are therefore poisoned by their own waste toxins.
bacteria that survive are those that are not fooled by the structure of the imposter molecules that pose as food.

evolution has more momentum than sentient opposition i guess in the long run

Very interesting. I wish I had followed my interest in microbiology from 9th grade when I did an experiment with nonpathogenic bacteria. That is where I admire those on the spectrum whose special interest is STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). My non-AS mind is pulled in so many directions with so many different interests that I can never delve deeply enough into one topic to produce anything useful.

whether or not you can produce something "useful" is really not important because in the span of time, inevitability will prevail.
everyone dies and whether it is sooner or later, it is all the same in the infinite time there is for stuff to happen which is beyond the comprehension of minds

That is true. However, not having a mind focused on one specific goal is not good for one's career in this job market. The demand for generalists is very low. It is a specialist's and technician's market now. The "Renaissance Man" (or woman) is in low demand.

One issue to complicate things involves the constant overuse of antibacterial agents in hand sanitizes/soaps. It can create certain bacterial superbugs by means of constant exposure to the agents. Each time a bacteria gets exposed, there exists a probability that a mutation can happen and the bacteria can become resistant to that particular antibacterial agent. As the formulation for each soap changes, so do the potential affects upon the exposed bacteria. If enough bacteria get exposed time and time again with the right mutations, they then can become the resistant superbugs that we dread.

Soaps, when properly used, are an effective means of removing bacteria from body surfaces. (Good old lye soap works particularly well, but it is too caustic for most people's skin.) Soap companies think that adding in a antibacterial agent will help sell their product (and they are right) because we will assume that it is better at removing bacteria from our bodies than regular soap. Consumers fall for this ploy and contribute to the misuse issue. We have to learn that sometimes less is actually better for us.

Another problem that creates superbugs is in putting certain unused antibacterial medications down the drain/toilet. Doing this can also cause bacteria to become unnecessarily exposed in our aqua systems. When you do this time and time again, it can lead to superbugs in your sewer system, which sometimes can migrate to other areas. Not all superbugs come from hospitals, although that is where they get the most exposure to antibacterial agents.

The Frontline report showed that a superbug had gotten into the water system in India. A missionary from Seattle developed the bug. When he travelled to Seattle, the bug travelled with him to the US.

I read an article in an old New Yorker magazine (July 12, 1999) called "The Demon in the Freezer" by Richard Preston about the Smallpox virus. This was expanded into a book published in 2002. The book also had sections about Anthrax. The article described the symptoms of the disease and discussed transmission routes. With modern travel, the virus can jump from country to country.

The article also described a 1972 outbreak of smallpox in Yugoslavia which was successfully contained. At that time, Tito, a dictator, controlled the country and was able to order a quarantine on people and limit the transmission of the disease. Additionally, at that time, people still had immunity to smallpox. Since then, people have lost their immunity.

According to the article, there were only supposed to be two repositories of the smallpox virus, Washington DC and Moscow. However, it was discovered that in the then USSR, there was at least one other location that harbored the virus. The USSR also was creating bioterrorism weapons. I have not researched whether or not other locations of the virus have been discovered, but if a madman seized power in a country and wanted to destroy the world, there is at least the possibility that he might succeed.

A few years ago, I was interested in the flu outbreak of 1918. While today infants and the elderly are considered to be susceptible to influenza, this 1918 strain was extremely virulent. It also attacked young, healthy people. According to witness testimony, the individual with this strain of influenza would be healthy, but within seconds, would fall over dead. During autopsy, the afflicted individuals displayed lungs which had become blue.

Mutation and natural selection of microbes is very much a concern for us. Not to change the topic, but this shows that the Theory of Evolution is very much a fact and needs to be taught in schools.

While in grad school, I had lengthy discussions with some of my biochemistry peers about said materials being used for bio-weapons by a rouge individual or group. Our conclusion was that it is just a matter of time before it does occur again on a much bigger scale than in WWII. (The Geneva convention treaty will not stop it even though we wish it would.)

However, it would require a few things to fall perfectly in place to get it to work well over the majority of the planet (ie. to act much like the 1918 pandemic flu). Unfortunately, some of the hard work has already occurred for this to happen. Chronic overpopulation is one major factor that aids in the spreading of said weapons. Environmental damage is another factor, since the immune system can become compromised upon long term exposure to certain pollution agents. There are just so many other factors that can play into this issue...

I wish I had a simple answer to prevent this from happening, but atlas, I do not.

The best thing we could do is to find a way to fund more scientific research to study stuff like this, even though much of it won't be useful and we will have to pay higher taxes to pay for it.

They are showing the documentary on superbugs (that I started this topic with) on local PBS stations in the US tonight. It's on at 10:00 EDT tonight, in about 2 hours from now.

If you have Netflix, the show Big Picture with Kal Penn, season 1, episode 4, has a show about how microbes such as viruses travel around the world.

Another problem is people not taking the correct course. Taking too little, for too little time is as bad as taking too much for too long. In fact arguably worse.

It resistance has a lot to do with timing.