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Antibiotic Resistant Staph Infections

Posted by michael on from the gorillas-to-eat-the-snakes dept.

oliphaunt writes "This! morning! at! Yahoo! there! is! a! story! about! drug-resistant! bacteria! This is interesting because, as of July 5 of this year, "It was the first case of vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the United States." Nobody can PROVE it of course, but this is probably a result of overprescription of antibiotics, and people not following doctor's directions, combined with stuff like antibiotic hand soap available over the counter. So what do we do when the bugs are resistant to everything we have? The answer is we die."

3 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. Poor fellow by m_chan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The patient, a 40-year-old Michigan man with diabetes, seems to have caught the bug off an infected catheter inserted while he was in the hospital for the amputation of a gangrenous toe

    Suddenly I realize that I am not having such a bad day after all.

  2. Re:Antibiotic soap? Probably not... by DustMagnet · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Not just cattle, but chickens are also fed antibiotics from the day they hatch. That way they grow faster and breed resistant bacteria. They have found bacteria in the human population that were resistant to antibiotics not yet approved for humans.

    The gain for the farmers is small, but measurable. The cost to the population as a whole is huge, but few people seem to care.

    And I agree, antibiotic soap isn't much of a problem.

    --
    'SBEMAIL!' is better than a goat!!
  3. Re:Isn't nature evil. by Fluffy+the+Cat · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The strongest things survive

    No, the fittest things survive. In evolutionary biology, fitness is defined as the ability to pass on your genes. This may be related to strength. It may not.

    nature is developing a new device

    Nature is developing nothing. There is no consciousness guiding the development of these organisms.