Bacterial resistance update

Triclosan, a chlorinated polyphenolic compound found in a range of consumer products, has been touted as "antibacterial" and somehow linked, by extension, to providing safety and reducing infection in hospitals and homes. Thus, it's found its way over the last twenty years into soaps and cleansers, and more recently toothpaste (scary).
Scientist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor reviewed relevant research on this chemical and the products that contain it, and came to the inevitable conclusion: it doesn't really work at reducing infection rates in hospitals, nor is it any better than regular soap at reducing bacterial levels on hands. And, of course, they tracked and documented cross-resistance amongst bacteria exposed to Triclosan and those who've never tasted the stuff: these ubiquitous antibacterial preparations are contributing to bacterial adaptation and resistance. Our environment is awash in these types of substances already, and bacterial resistance is increasing. Antibiotics, which can be lifesavers in emergency situations, are one thing (overused, granted). But no one should be purchasing these Triclosan-containing products which are ineffective and dangerous to the environmental balance.

Pharmaceuticals in tap water

An investigation by the Associated Press reveals some disturbing facts about the presence of a variety of medications in the public water supply of at least 41 million Americans. Major metropolitan areas were sampled along with representative rural communities from all 50 states.
The array of pharmaceuticals includes seizure medications, antibiotics, mood stabilizers, steroids and other hormones, and more. While it may be in the best interest (of someone) to over-medicate the American psyche with antidepressants and muscle relaxants, it is of immediate concern to see high levels of antibiotics entering the environment and registering appreciable quantities in water. It is no wonder antibiotic resistance is so prevalent amongst pathogenic bacteria.

Antibiotic resistance update

Bacteria are getting better at eluding technological medicine's open attacks. I've been following the mainstream media's reports on this subject for a while now, and especially in this last year things seem to have begun an exponential rise.
Of chief concern is a variety of Staph bacteria, known as MRSA, that is highly resistant to powerful antibiotics, as well as being way more virulent. And now some numbers are in: MRSA has killed an estimated 19,000 Americans in 2005 and made 94,000 seriously ill.
Additionally, a strain of bacteria sometimes involved in middle ear infections (Streptococcus pneumoniae) is evolving antibiotic resistance that may have come as a response to increased vaccination rates and the overuse of drugs for ear infections.
Folks around the country are getting worried as these bugs spread from the hospital to the community. Dallas, where a teenager died from MRSA in March, is monitoring local schools. Bedford, VA has shut down all its schools after a student died of MRSA today.
This is getting scarier, and it seems to me that a moratorium on antibiotic use (unthinkable to mention even 10 years ago) for all but the most dire emergencies is almost in order. But if we can't use antibiotics, what on earth can we use to treat ear, skin, and lung infections? We are powerless!

Antibiotic resistance update

Reuters brings news from China that many bacterial lung infections that cause pneumonia are resistant to antibiotics. We've been following the reports of drug-resistant pathogens, mostly bacteria, and the response that government and healthcare establishments are considering.
Resistance seems to spread from centers of antibiotic use, with hospitals acting as 'universities' for bacteria to swap information and reduce their sensitivity to drugs (by altering metabolic pathways, structures in their cell walls, or both). While 70% of pneumonia cases were resistant in the Chinese 'countryside', that number reached 90% at major hospitals in cities like Beijing.
What's troubling is that, unlike poor manufacturing processes that lead to product recalls, antibiotic resistance is much like carbon emission: it has global reach and impact. Pneumonia can indeed be deadly, especially in weakened constitutions; and we do have drugs that the bacteria still aren't resistant to. But the trend in the last ten years is undeniable: let's not wait until all modern antibiotics are ineffective, and start incorporating more crude botanical preparations into the treatment protocols, especially for stronger folks, especially in hospitals!

Some herbs for active, moist pulmonary infections:

Warming expectorants: elecampane, lobelia
Antibacterials: garlic, thyme, eucalyptus, usnea
Diaphoretics: boneset, elderflower, ginger, cayenne
Antiinfectives: echinacea, osha

...and for convalescence: astragalus, red reishi

Of course, the sooner you begin addressing any lung distress, the better the final outcome. Still, I see no reason why some of these plants couldn't be incorporated into hospital regimens -- and it will happen, probably sooner than we think.

Trouble for antibiotics

Antibiotic resistance has been all over the news lately, with the media spotlight focused on the case of a man with extensively-drug-resistant tuberculosis who somehow eluded border checkpoints across Europe, Canada and the U.S.
We thought we had TB "licked", right? But the pesky little bug has somehow adapted to changing environmental conditions, and now modern medicine is left in a global panic when faced with the possible spread of a TB strain resistant to most available dugs. Treatment is expensive, long, and not always effective - and the specter of an even more powerful "superbug" looms large.

Hospitals, with their ubiquitous use of antibiotics, have long been havens for some ultra-potent, resistant strains of common bacteria like staph (Staphylococcus aureus). This bug can cause skin infections and systemic sepsis in the worst cases, but our immune systems usually take care of it pretty well (especially with a little Echinacea, an excellent remedy for this pathogen). In hospitals, a strain called MRSA (methycillin-resistant-staph-aureus) has been giving doctors headaches for a good while, ever since methycillin was extensively prescribed to kill bacteria that had become immune to penicillin. Now, they use vancomycin (ultra-strong antibiotic) to treat MRSA, but VRSA has already evolved and modern science has NO treatment available for this new bug. Things don't look too hopeful for the wonderdrugs that, in the 1950s, were heralded as the "end of infectious disease".

If this weren't enough, it turns out that MRSA has been spreading outside hospitals as well. A recent study showed a seven-fold increase in these cases over the period from 2000 to 2005, and this is just in the Chicago area. This is a concern because not only are these bacteria resistant to antibiotics, but they are generally more aggressive in the physiology as well, and can become lethal more quickly and easily than their original counterparts. Nevertheless, they still respond well to herbal treatment, especially if detected early.

In the wake of these types of reports (which have been ongoing), along with analyses that show how widely overused antibiotics are, modern medicine has been urging a less liberal prescription strategy so we can have these powerful drugs available when we really need them (i.e., not for your common cold)! And here's another reason: last month a broad analysis of over 13,000 children in Manitoba, Canada showed that antibiotic use in the first year of life substantially increases asthma later on, presumably by confusing and weakening the kids' immunity. The more frequent and more powerful the antibiotics, the greater the risk for asthma.

So, in the end, antibiotics seem to be less effective as time goes on, and actually quite harmful in some cases. More and more, it will be up to herbalists to pick up the pieces of our short and misguided love affair with these drugs. If you want to learn more, here's a good place to start.