Scientists find superbugs in Delhi drinking water!

[funguy2121]

Why yes, yes it is. Prescribing anti-biotics during even possible contamination during surgery, a huge contributer to this, is still a very good idea since cutting open a person and introducing foreign objects to the inside of their bodies is one of the easier ways to kill a person. However, prescribing antibiotics anytime someone gets sick, and pumping our poultry full of them, are overzealous precautions and the very reason for the strains of super-staph (MRSA and VRSA) that are resistant to even our strongest antibiotics.

Also, evolution thread.

Industrialized farming is almost solely responsible for creating super bugs.

People have had very little to do with the contribution (in terms of half assing your taking of antibiotics).

I've never half-assed taking antibiotics. Next time you insult someone, don't make your grammar fodder for jokes.

The emergence of MRSA and VRSA happened BECAUSE of Methicilan and Vancomycin's extensive use following surgeries. It doesn't fail to be the case because of your say-so.

http://www.silver-colloids.com/Pubs/antibiotic-resistance.html

That was the very first entry under google. It's not hard to research something before accusing someone of half-assing their statement.

Play nice

 

[Dags90]

That was the very first entry under google. It's not hard to research something before accusing someone of half-assing their statement.

Play nice

A website advertising for colloidal silver (a popular health scam that can cause people to turn gray) probably isn't the best source. That's not to say that it isn't true, but I don't trust health scam websites on principle.

Norway has managed to beat MRSA by cutting down on prescriptions. It should probably mentioned to the unaware that antibiotics are available over-the-counter in many developing countries (like, say, India), so it's hardly surprising that they have a superbug problem.

 

[OniaPL]

The main problem with the modern practice of medicine in my opinion is that we give out antibiotics for basically everything. And this inevitably causes these superbugs to form later on, and humanity can't really keep up with them at some point. We really need to change the modern practice of medicine.

Don't get me wrong, antibiotics are a great thing, but we don't need them for everything.

Here's a link on a study:
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/163/5/601

It says that a crapload of people received antibiotics when they didn't actually need them. Obviously we can't declare this as the absolute truth based on one study, but if it has any truth in it it really speaks a lot to me, at least.

 

[hem dazon 90]

Mother. Fucker.


You'd think Allah could give India a break seeing as it is the only burgeoning superpower that cares about it's citizens.

 

[spartan231490]

Considering the fact that we're all going to die anyways due to viruses and bacteriae becoming immune to antibiotics, I see the beginning of the end here.

yay

Viruses are already immune to antibiotics. Antibiotics and antivirals work in completely different ways. Also, no virus or bacteria has a 100% kill rate, so yeah, the human race will survive.

OT: How long have they been there without spreading? how does this bacteria spread? unless it's an airborne bacteria with a long gestation period that just developed, we're all fine. well, unless you drink that water in which case, you might not be fine.

 

['Record Stops.']

Bitchin' new concept. If the Superbug proves to be a problem, just RELY on machines to save our asses... Come talk to me when SkyNet goes online, then I'll be worried about IBM screwing us all over.

 

[OniaPL]

..Wow, seriously? This is pretty bad in my honest opinion, I really do hope that we can pull through this case. If not- Nature shall take its course against us. I still believe we'll manage, but immune to almost all medicines mankind has made? Crap...

And all because mainly, we popped in pills.. this is irony to a whole new level, which most of the time is minor. This, uh.. health crises indeed.

The worst part in this crisis in my opinion is in what it will lead to even if we cure it in time. When we make new pills to prevent superbacteria which are caused by the pills, we aren't really fixing anything, just delaying the inevitable.

Also, it's rather likely that if the situation escalates, some people will start panicking. And that leads to medicine etc. etc. hoarding, which leads to popping more pills.

And as the article states: Unless we have working antibiotics or something that functions like them, how are we going to perform surgeries? After all, Delhi is a freaking big city, and the bugs can easily spread from there.

To me this does seem like a grave situation. 5-6 years until we can create pills that can take down this bacteria? What will happen during this time? will these pills just create stronger bacteria?

 

[YawningAngel]

The problem is not the misuse of antibiotics, the problem is the limited pool of antibiotics to be misused. If there was any actual profit to be made in developing antibiotics, which (by and large) there isn't, drug companies would do so and this issue would likely never arise.

The solution is either to create incentives for drug companies to develop the drugs that people actually need, rather than the drugs they'll pay for, or simply to stop relying on entities driven by profit rather than public interest to develop medicine.

 

[Sonicron]

Not the first time a superbug appears on the scene. We'll survive this one as we did the others.

That said, it's ridiculous how doctors go about prescribing antibiotics for the slightest boo-boo these days. I've been sick plenty of times in my life, as have most other human beings my age, but I can still count the times I've been on antibiotics in my life on one hand. Luckily, my parents have PhDs in medicine and microbiology; They were kind enough to teach me that antibiotics are only to be used in fucking serious cases.

 

[rokkolpo]

What can we do?

We could always... *puts on sunglasses*...
Give them the boot.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Maybe it's not the viruses getting stronger. Maybe our immune systems are just getting weaker from all the medicine we take (since that means our immune systems won't get the chance to become stronger)

Considering the fact that we're all going to die anyways due to viruses and bacteriae becoming immune to antibiotics, I see the beginning of the end here.

yay

You avatar fits that statement perfectly. XD

 

[countrysteaksauce]

Relax, people, I've got your miracle solution right here:

[link]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phage_therapy[/link]

 

[Jonny49]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/07/us-bacteria-superbugs-india-idUSTRE7357W920110407

Yarr. Scientists have found superbugs in Delhi's drinking water, bugs which are highly resistant to almost all antibiotics mankind knows. This could lead to an international health crisis sonner or later.

So, for discussion value: Is it ridiculous that we pop pills for even the smallest sickness and thus create these "superbugs", or is it inevitable and the only thing we can do is develop mankinds medicine? Should we start panicking? How can we prevent this from spreading when scientists say it will take at least 5-6 years to create medicine that will counter these bugs?

What can we do?

Don't worry guys, it's all cool. IBM got this one.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/04/06/ibm-creates-nanoparticles-that-burst-superbugs-like-popped-balloons/

Now lets all go inside and drink a glass of whisky.

 

[Zidantas]

As far as I know this bug doesn't appear to be viral, so I don't really see how it's meant to be transported from person to person. The only way to get it would be to drink the horrible water. So unless that becomes the new standard around the world, I wouldn't get too worried. Swine Flu was also meant to completely wipe humanity off the planet and as far as I know the death toll was nigh on 4000, and this number was mostly people who had life-threatening conditions anyway.

 

[TheTim]

lets just hope they don't become resistant to *all antibiotics, then ill be worried

 

[wills_b]

To everyone seemingly panicking about this article - don't. It's a serious issue, but it's not a "The End Is Nigh" issue.

There is a prevalence of overprescribing, and that is due to people's confidence in antibiotics in the past. They didn't seem to do any harm, so people were happy to dish them out. That culture is changing.

For the few people still not getting it:
Viruses and bacteria = different things
antibiotics = only for bacteria
vaccines = only for viruses, and totally unrelated to this

The thing is the cat's already out of the bag with resistant organisms. They are already widely prevalent in the developed and developing world.

And for people saying that antibiotics don't get any development, that is simply not the case. Considering how short a period (comparatively) they have been around, and how many there are, I think it's pretty impressive. Besides the most recent antibiotics (Meropenem, Tazocin -although that's recently come off license) are hugely expensive.

 

[WolfThomas]

Next sensationalist news article, "Scientists find super bugs on people's skin!". A large chunk of society has MRSA on their skin, I wouldn't be suprised to find it polluted water.

vaccines = only for viruses, and totally unrelated to this

What about Typhoid?

But yeah I agree with pretty much all you posted.

 

[Dags90]

vaccines = only for viruses, and totally unrelated to this

What about Typhoid?

But yeah I agree with pretty much all you posted.

Don't forget the vaccine for meningococcal meningitis, too.

The real conversation should be about whether the international community should come together to ensure better regulation and monitoring of antibiotics, the same way we do with pollution. Almost all of Norway's MRSA cases are traced to other countries. And countries like India (and numerous others) which have OTC antibiotics are potentially putting the entire world at an increased health risk.

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

Or, you know, you could just put in a sealable container, preferably metal, then heat it up untill it boils, then wait for it to turn back to liquid.

Scientists are still working on a way to do this to the inside of someone's body...

EDIT: screw this, i'm patenting this shit.

 

[VanityGirl]

Considering the fact that we're all going to die anyways due to viruses and bacteriae becoming immune to antibiotics, I see the beginning of the end here.

yay

Well, I must say that's not entirely true. We will make new ways to fight disease and disease will find new ways to fight our treatments.