Antibiotic-Resistant “Superbug” Bacteria Emerges
Amid the global catastrophes the world is facing right now, another yet medical disturbance is fast emerging in India, then in Europe, and now in the US.
Amid the global catastrophes the world is facing right now, another yet medical disturbance is fast emerging in India, then in Europe, and now in the US. We could be more sympathetic with Pakistan’s current situation or with Russia’s progressing environmental battle, but to hear about another impediment to world health that is far more visual than natural disturbances is but an incomparable catastrophe. The bacterium was known as the New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamese or the NDM-1. This type of bacteria is known to suppress and resist the capability of most beta-lactam antibiotics thus making it an antibiotic-resistive bacterium.
In an interview by CNN’s Carol Costello of American Morning to Dr. Anthony Fauci, it revealed that the emerging bacterium is actually just a reconstitution or mutation of older types of bacteria. Dr. Fauci is the director of the NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He said in the interview that bacteria can easily adapt to old antibiotics by just simply changing their genetic makeup through mutation. With this, the genes of a bacterium can transfer to another bacterium thus making up another new form that is basically resistant to the current antibiotics available in the market so far.
The history of bacteria mutation has been credited even way back in the history of medicine and the discovery of penicillin. In 1943, microbes that can resist the ever powerful antibiotic that time – the penicillin – started to propagate and from then scientists has been looking out for versions of antibiotics that they can make in order to battle out the emergences. Also in 1967, Streptococcus pneumoniae has been discovered to have an antibiotic resistive capability like its predecessor Staphylococcus aureus. There had been reports that bacteria can also get used to a particular antibiotic and becomes immune with it through regular exposure, usage and abuse. This was so imminent in studies during the 1990’s.
Dr. Fauci explained that it is but a challenge to them as researchers and the people in medical scrubs to put a stop to the proliferation of the “superbug.” He exposed in the interview that pharmaceutical companies too have responsibility of creating new agents and types of antibiotics to combat new mutated microbes rather than just concentrating on various types or focusing more on which that sells more.
When a bacterium mutates, what happens is that some of its physical attributes change. For example its membrane can evolve and become stronger able to suppress penicillin’s power to break it by the wall membrane. On the case of erythromycin, the ribosome attacking antibiotic, bacteria can be more fully mutated with other bacteria in order to shield their ribosomes so it cannot be broken or bound.
Dr. Fauci reiterated that the NDM-1’s spread is caused by transference from human to human. That is, a human can be contacted with this microbe from one place and pass on the bacteria to another place. He cites example in hospitals wherein people gets treated and might be infected and then willfully transfer the bacteria into another person. For the case of NDM-1, medical tourism is the primary sought factor to its spread.
It goes to say that, prevention is the best way we can shield ourselves from infections. This prevention can consist of regularly washing our hands or taking well of our hygiene.
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George has been with a hospital for quite sometime. Today he observed a rather disturbing truth that challenges people ing medical scrubs.
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