The emergence of MCR-1 heralds the breach of the last group of antibiotics, polymyxins, by plasmid-mediated resistance. Although currently confined to China, MCR-1 is likely to emulate other global resistance mechanisms such as NDM-1. The Lancet
TV news regularly trots out a health care provider to lecture us on the overuse of antibiotics. Antibiotics have widespread effects and should only be used after careful thought, but many countries do not respect that admonition and if you have the money you can acquire the drugs. The agricultural use of antibiotics to encourage rapid growth is rarely mentioned. It may be that some of the research being done on bacterial phages – viruses that attack bacteria – will fill in the weak spots. That research was pioneered by the Soviets, and phage therapy is used in Georgia, Russia and parts of Poland currently. Sources: Discovery News Scientific American The Lancet
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Patient one was injured in a dirt bike accident in 2014. It resulted in complete paralysis from the waist down. He was implanted with the scaffolding and has since regained some motor functions. Patient two was injured in a motorcycle accident. She has regained some sensory function but no motor function. Patient three fell from a hunting platform and was paralyzed from his chest down. He has since regained feeling in his legs and some bladder control.
Spinal injuries are catastrophic to the person injured, but also to their partners, parents, children. The Public Health Agency of Canada tried to estimate the cost over a lifetime for caring for severely injured people. It estimated that for those who still have functioning arms, the cost would amount to about $1.5 million. Those who developed quadriplegia would cost the health system approximately $3 million. With Canada’s relatively small population of around 35 million, the annual costs work out to about $2.67 billion each year. As well as the personal suffering and social costs, there are costs to society in loss of productivity. And if family is caring for the person, their loss in productivity. When people are paralyzed from the chest down, they often lose their control of bowels and bladder. Sexual functioning is also impaired. Severe spinal cord injuries often result in a shortened life span as well. Sources: Bloomberg Business In Vivo Therapeutics Public Health Agency of Canada MERS is caused by a coronavirus. Little is known about it as it was only identified as the cause of illness three years ago. The first case positively identified was a man in Jordan. The virus has been known to infect camels but the linkage to humans has not been worked out yet.
Coronaviruses are a group of infective agents that cause respiratory illness. They cause varying degrees of illness. Human’s common cold is caused by them. SARS(Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome) that originated in China and spread worldwide is a coronavirus. MERS so far has shown itself to be more deadly than SARS but less contagious. Sources: S. Korea MERS outbreak: 2nd hospital closed, interest rate cut CDC gov Al Jazeera Public Health agency Canada
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Barbara McPherson
Blogger, gardener, farmer. Working toward food security and a 30 foot
diet. Addicted to reading. Love this planet, especially my little corner
on Vancouver Island, Canada Archives
October 2016
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