SUPERBUGS

  Antibiotic resistance reaching dangerous new high.

Teri Dolan-Ward

Psychology

tward@lhup.edu

 

Bacteria are so very important because of its flexibility of living in many environments, the ability to reproduce so very rapidly as well as its fast rate of growth.  Some bacteria can replicate in as little as 15 minutes.  This may or may not appear very fast but when we really understand how they divide it may become more impressive to you.  One bacterial cell replicates into two in 15 minutes.  Now two cells replicate in to four cells (30 minutes), those four cells now replicate into eight cells (45 minutes) and of course the eight cells now replicate into 16 (one hour later)

 

When continuing this pattern of bacterial replication within a day the one single bacterial cell has reproduced into 79,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (7.9E28) bacterial cells.  That to me seems rather impressive. 

 

Bacteria have cell walls.  This protects the cell from drying out.  It also protects it from outside objects from getting inside.  This happens when we have a bacterial infection.  Our body’s immune system cells which normally break down these cells are unable to penetrate the bacteria.  This also becomes the case with antibiotic resistant bacteria (a.k.a. superbugs).  The bacteria’s cell wall is much stronger than the antibiotic that is trying to penetrate it. 

 

Now understanding how a bacterial cell is encased and its ability to be impermeable to our disease fighting natural immune system as well as prescription antibiotics one can only imagine what would happen in a developing country with an antibiotic resistant strain of bacteria.  The bacteria would reproduce so very rapid and the lack of strong antibiotics would be devastating to their population.  It would be similar to the bubonic plague that wiped out 1/3 of the population of Europe in the 1300’s, and possibly even worse.  When thinking about how much more available travel is today than compared to years ago it seems as though it would be highly possibility for this multitude of disaster to exist again.

 

In 1928 Alexander Fleming discovered Penicillin.  What an amazing discovery that was for the world of health and medicine.  After seeing what this wonderful substance did many medical scientists believed the infectious diseases to be conquered.  However microbiologists found different.  As the medical field was celebrating the microbiologists were finding that even then some of the bacteria had started to protect itself from the antibiotic. 

         

Pharmaceutical companies were developing new, improved, stronger antibiotics and this brilliant find was flooding the market.  It was now not only used for humans, it was being used for animals as well.  Farmers and feed lots were now using antibiotics on factory farm animals for the prevention of infections from over crowded, unhealthy conditions as well to promote growth in livestock.  Later it came to be used for agricultural means as well.  It is believed that by spraying antibiotics on orchards and crops this would limit the bacteria’s strength. 

  

Superbugs, what are they, where did they come from, how are we going to over come them, Many questions need to be answered.  Where shall we start?  Superbugs are bacteria that are resistant to more than one form of antibiotic.  They are usually resistant to many forms of antibiotics.  They have grown in strength by mutating into strains of bacteria that are virtually untouchable by modern day antibiotics.  More and more people are dieing from what was once thought to be simple, normal, routine illnesses.  What was once cured by penicillin is now much more complex and difficult to overcome with higher, stronger levels of antibiotics.  Very few pharmaceutical companies are introducing new forms of antibiotics because of how costly it is to be passed through the FDA.  It is $900 million to research and test a new antibiotic to put before the FDA.  Pharmaceutical companies are not investing money into new antibiotics to break through the strains of these Superbugs. 

                                               

 

 

 

 

 

Food Issues

 

Twenty-five million pounds of antibiotics are used in the United States on farm animals.  These antibiotics are not for sick animals, they are used to prevent illness.  The prevention is necessary because of how these animals are raised prior to being shipped off for processing.  The animals are raised in unhealthy, filthy, overcrowded conditions. This would be a great environment for bacteria to be spread.   Fluoroquinolones are antibiotics given to animals.  This is the same antibiotic that is used on humans to treat some diseases.  This becomes an issue when certain bacterial strains are transferred from animal to humans.  Four bacterial strains that have been transferred are E. coli, Campylobacter, Enterococcus, as well as Salmonella. 

 

    In June 2003 McDonalds took action with regard to its chicken.  Since then they have no longer sold chicken that use antibiotics to promote growth.  The corporation is continuing to stress this importance onto its beef and pork suppliers.  The company Bon Appetit is also on the road to doing its part.  In June of 2004 they decided to no longer use chickens that have been raised on antibiotics for preventative, non-therapeutic means.

Bon Appetit also gives first preference to producers of low-antibiotic raised goods such as dairy products, meat, and fish.

 

          Denmark banned antibiotic growth promoters in the year 1998.   The World Health Organization (WHO) suggested in the year 2002 that antibiotic use to promote growth in livestock be stopped. The European Union has also stepped up to battle this issue.  Its plan by the year 2006 is to cease all use of antibiotics on feed lots. 

 

 

 POLITICS OF OVER USE OF ANTIBIOTICS

  

Seventy percent of the antibiotics pharmaceutical companies create are used on beef cattle, poultry and pigs to prevent the spread of disease.  Farmers do not always have the control over the buyer’s request.  They may have to raise animals with preventive antibiotic use because it is contracted to do so.  Farmers will comply because there are not many direct sellers.  Usually the farmers sell to large meat and poultry processors.

 

Some of the large pharmaceutical companies making these antibiotics are Bayer, Pfizer, Wyeth and Novartis just to name a few. 

 

 

 

The lobbying group, Animal Health Institute (AHI) is made up of large pharmaceutical companies, large agricultural corporations and manufacturers of veterinary products.  These AHI corporations donated $40.3 million in the 2003-04 elections.  Most of this money had been donated to the Republican Party. 

 

The American Medical Association and The American Public Health Association as well as 300+ organizations support the ban in the United States on non-therapeutic antibiotics in meat and poultry.  There is a bill now before congress to phase out the use of non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in the meat and poultry industry.

 

There are eight antibiotics that are on the list to ban.

 

 

 

Antibiotic Resistant Bacterial Infections

 

Staphylococcus aureus

  •    Staph bacteria can live harmlessly on many skin surfaces.

  •    When the skin is punctured staph bacteria can enter the wound and cause an infection. 

  •    Staph bacteria can cause folliculitis, boils, scalded skin syndrome, impetigo, toxic shock syndrome, cellulitis, and other types of infections.

 

 

 

Haemophilus influenzae

  •    Disease caused by H. influenzae usually begins in the upper respiratory tract as nasopharyngitis and may be followed by sinusitis and otitis, possibly leading to pneumonia. In severe cases, bacteremia may occur which frequently results in joint infections or meningitis.

 

 

Mycobacterium tuberculosis  

  • Tuberculosis is a disease caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria can attack any part of your body, but they usually attack the lungs

 

 

Salmonella species

  •   Salmonella is an infection caused by a gram-negative bacillus, a germ of the Salmonella genus. Infection with these bacteria may involve only the intestinal tract, or may spread from the intestines to the blood stream and then to other body sites. The source of infection is contaminated food or water, or close contact with other human beings carrying the infection.

 

 

Klebsiella pneumoniae

  •    Klebsiella pneumoniae can cause pneumonia  although it more commonly implicated in hospital -acquired urinary tract and wound  infections

  •    This particularly affects people with weakened immune systems 

  •    It is an increasing problem on hospitals because of the evolution of antibiotic resistant strains.

 

 

Urinary Tract Bacteria

  • A UTI is an inflammation caused by bacteria invading the kidneys, bladder, or urinary passageways.

  

What can we do to support the ban on overuse of antibiotics?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

References:

 

http://www.greenpeople.org/organicfood.htm

 http://www.kidneyetn.org/zframes-nkfetuti.html

http://www.mckinley.uiuc.edu/health-info/dis-cond/commdis/salmonel.html

http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/commoninfections/a/tuberculosis.htm

http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/staphylococcus.html

http://textbookofbacteriology.net/haemophilus.html