Our World

Superbug

Doctors have been noticing a strain of bacteria particularly common in British and American soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bacteria are commonly present in the soil and water of the Middle East. Infection, usually because of open wounds, often leads to other diseases, which may prove fatal.

Acinetobacter baumannii is the name given to this threat. The 'superbug' is resistant to antibiotics, and has been known to survive for weeks on dry surfaces or human skin. Among the few drugs it responds to is a chemical called colistin, which is dangerous itself, due to harmful complications. For example, there is no standardized dose for the medicine, so kidneys and nerves may be damaged by unnecessarily high amounts prescribed. Use of the drug is limited in the UK and it is not available for this purpose in the United States. Other treatments, including a substance called sulbactam, are being tested, but are not used commonly yet.

Acinetobacter baumannii has been spreading in some American and many British hospitals, particularly in Intensive Care Units. Soldiers transported back to the country for treatment have passed it on to civilians, causing infections and deaths. Britain's National Health Service has been under tremendous pressure for quite some time in regards to their standards of hygiene, and this is just one more on their growing list of concerns. Only a small percentage of infections prove deadly, but the resistant nature of the bacteria is troubling.

This all brings to mind anthrax scares and bird flu, problems directly linked to world travel and interconnectedness. Globalization has its downsides, and this is certainly one of them. The spread of disease from other regions of the world through human activity and travel has been a concern since the Black Plague, which originated in China, wiped out 1/3 of Europe in the 14th century. Greater technology in medical fields has two sides as well. The recent widespread use of antibiotics has caused microorganisms to resist the treatments and develop into new strains, always staying two steps ahead of medicine. Problems resulting from this are only beginning to affect us.

"Troops 'spread superbug'"

posted by Anonymous @ 10/07/2006 07:49:00 PM