Stop squandering antibiotics.What are we going to do when our antibiotics stop working...when "miracle" drugs like penicillin penicillin, any of a group of chemically similar substances obtained from molds of the genus Penicillium that were the first antibiotic agents to be used successfully in the treatment of bacterial infections in humans. and tetracycline tetracycline (tĕ'trəsī`klēn), any of a group of antibiotics produced by bacteria of the genus Streptomyces. They are effective against a wide range of Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria, interfering with protein no longer kill the bacteria they're supposed to? It's no longer a theoretical question. "More than 90 percent of isolates of Staphylococcus aureus Staphylococcus au·re·us n. A bacterium that causes furunculosis, pyemia, osteomyelitis, suppuration of wounds, and food poisoning. Staphylococcus aureus Staphylococcus pyogenes , which is one of the most common disease-causing bacteria, are resistant to penicillin," explains Patricia Lieberman, a staff scientist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI CSPI Center for Science in the Public Interest CSPI Corporate Service Price Index CSPI Cumulative Schedule Performance Index ), the nonprofit consumer group that publishes Nutrition Action Healthletter. The problem: Bacteria are "smart." The more doctors prescribe when they're not necessary, and the more farmers lace their feed with antibiotics to speed the growth of livestock, the easier it is for bacteria that can evade the drugs to multiply. Why should you care? Because if the doctor prescribes an antibiotic to help you fight off a bacterial infection, and if the infection is caused by bacteria that are resistant to the antibiotic, the drug will not work. And that could be deadly. Antibiotics are grossly overused, in doctors' offices, in hospitals, and on the farm. That's what I explained at a press conference in Washington, D.C., in late May, as I announced the formation of the Campaign to Preserve the Effectiveness of Antibiotics. Joining CSPI in the coalition were more than ten other groups and some 50 medical experts. CSPI also released a 27-page report, Protecting the Crown Jewels crown jewels Ornaments used at the coronation of a monarch and the formal ensigns of monarchy worn or carried on state occasions, as well as collections of personal jewelry consolidated by European sovereigns as valuable assets of their royal houses and the offices they of Medicine. Among its recommendations: * the government should not allow important human antibiotics like penicillin and tetracycline to be added to animal feed to speed up livestock growth (the U.S. and Canada are the only two developed nations that do), * the government should encourage the use of strep strep adj. Streptococcal. n. Streptococcus. cultures and other tests that doctors could use to avoid unnecessary prescriptions for antibiotics, * the government should require nursing homes and hospitals to offer the pneumonia vaccine to people over 65, to prevent diseases that would require the use of antibiotics, arid * the government should do a better job of monitoring the use of antibiotics, the prevelance of antibiotic resistant bacteria, and the diseases those bugs cause, and should support international efforts to reduce antibiotic resistance antibiotic resistance, n the ability of certain strains of microorganisms to develop resistance to antibiotics. antibiotic resistance . |
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