Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Superbugs are not mythical: How to deal?

Many veterinarians commented on my post (list of most effective and least effective antibiotics in animals) saying that they don’t use carbapenems, tigecycline, colistin and other last resort drugs in animals and antibiotics in animals feed thus there will be no problem of superbug infection in animals. Dear friends, it is just a myth, see some facts:
1.       Superbugs having NDM and other drug resistance traits are more common in carnivore wild animals than in domestic animals and human patients. Why? Nobody using antibiotics in wild animals. It is simply the contaminated food and water and our environment with superbugs. You may read, how antibiotic resistance has emerged in wildlife in our recent article: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312159503_Emergence_of_antibiotic_resistance_in_captive_wildlife?ev=prf_pub
2.       Mechanism of the emergence of antimicrobial drug resistance cannot be compartmentalized, all users of antibiotics and other antimicrobials (including sanitizers flooded in markets) have to come together and rationalize the use of good nasty things. To understand more, how resistance to carbapenems is emerging you may see. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280096607_Emergence_of_Carbapenemase_Producing_Pathogens_in_Animals.
3.       The microbes are not as selfish as the higher life including the most intelligent human. They believe in sharing the beneficial traits and evolved many different ways to gain and share the useful traits for their survival among all of their friends and relatives. How do they do it? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274382304_An_Overview_of_Mechanisms_and_Emergence_of_Antimicrobials_Drug_Resistance
4.       Who is using herbal antimicrobials in animals? Still, herbal antimicrobial drug resistance is rampant. It is not the use of a drug by you or your doctor. If anyone else in your environment is using these nasty good things indiscriminately; certainly, you are also at risk. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283859908_Emergence_of_Herbal_Antimicrobial_Drug_Resistance_in_Clinical_Bacterial_Isolates
5.       Dear friends, it is not only use of antimicrobial drugs for therapeutic and feed additives, some of the traitors to humanity have permitted and used antibiotics as preservatives. An example is the use of enrofloxacin (a fluoroquinolone, equivalent to ciprofloxacin) as a preservative in Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccines, how vets can say then they are not using antibiotics indiscriminately? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303685698_Use_of_Enrofloxacin_as_Preservative_in_FMD_vaccine?ev=prf_pub

So friends, be careful about your apparent and hidden role in the spread of antimicrobial drug resistance (AMR) and the emergence of superbugs. Come together to fight with the AMR and for your future, future of your coming generations. What can you do?
a.       Not buy antibiotics without a prescription.
b.      Ask your doctor while he/she prescribes antibiotics, is it necessary?
c.       Always question when your clinician prescribes more than one antibiotic at a time.
d.      Complete the course of prescribed antibiotic even if you feel better.
e.      Say no to antibiotics for minor problems and diseases/ ailments not caused by bacteria as flu.
f.        Be more hygiene cautious than being fond of sanitizers, sanitizers are not alternates for hygienic practices as washing your hands with soap and water before taking food and afterward, after using toilets and washrooms, meeting/ handling the sick/ patients.
g.       Keep your environment clean to be healthy even if you are anti-Modi.
h.      Keep vigil on how the hospitals/ diagnostic laboratories and clinics in your vicinity are disposing of their waste and call the authorities to stop them from polluting the environment.
i.        Do not think like political leaders thriving for votes for short term gains, think long term for survival of the humanity.

j.        Don’t be selfish, be generous in sharing your thought for cleanliness, better life on earth, to curb emergence of AMR, to fight with enemy think like the enemy. Thus to fight with AMR learn from bacteria how they cooperate with each other.

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